Author: Mohamed Reehaan

Vakkaru Maldives has been recognized as the number one favorite Family Hotel (International Category) in the Conde Nast Traveller Middle East Readers’ Choice Awards 2021. Moreover, this win makes the fourth such prestigious accolade won by the luxury tourist resort in 2021 while it had won three accolades at the World Travel Awards 2021 earlier. Vakkaru Maldives, since its debut in 2017 has been a driving force in creating family friendly activities for tourists based on current trends in travel. The top-end resort caters to younger travelers through its kids and teens clubs, with the inclusion of several fun activities…

According to the latest updates from Ministry of Tourism, dated as of 24th November 2021, the total tourist arrivals to Maldives has reached 1,126,539. Moreover, the tourist arrival figure by the review period is already in excess of the government projected target arrival for the current year, indicating steady progress in the international travel and tourism industry. Meanwhile, the total tourist arrivals to Maldives from 01st to 24th November has reached 113,611 which is 2.9% above the arrival figure of 2019 which stood at 110,415. Furthermore, the arrival total in the review period in November is a 334.1% growth compared…

According to Ministry of Finance, the cumulative total of state expenditure has reached MVR26,901.1 million (MVR26.9 billion) as of 18th November 2021. Meanwhile, the cumulative total of state revenues inclusive of foreign grants by the review period had reached MVR16,837.4 million (MVR16.8 billion). During the review period, the strongest earning streams to the state were tax sources such as TGST, GGST and BPT. As such state had earned 73% of the total revenues through tax sources while the remaining 27% of the revenues came from non-tax sources. Moreover, the overall balance for the period is a deficit of MVR10,063.7 million…

The American Express Travel Impressions has launched a brand new destination promotional campaign, marketing the Maldives to affluent travelers of German and Austrian markets. Moreover, under the destination promotion campaign information brochures marketing the island nation will be circulated among the affluent cardholders of American Express, starting effectively from 26th November. Furthermore, the campaign with American Express targets 4,500 Centurion cardholders in the German and Austrian markets by “mailing exclusive Maldives destination brochure featuring various, luxury properties directly” to the cardholders. Centurion cardholders are the highest tier spenders for the credit card firm, while becoming a member of this tier…

MIAT Mongolian Airlines commence their charter flight operations to the Maldives, officially making their maiden voyage on Wednesday, 24th November 2021. Though the maiden flight from the airline landed at Velana International Airport (VIA) on Wednesday, regular charter flight operations of the carrier will officially commence on 27th December and run through 31st March 2022. Moreover, reports confirm the Wednesday’s MIAT Mongolian flight had carried the country’s travel industry affiliates including tour operators, travel bloggers and other prominent media personnel.

The government of Japan has provided with a grant aid worth JPY8,173,332 (approximately MVR1,166,970) towards the development of a local school in Gaaf Alif atoll. Moreover, the Maldives government confirms that Japan’s grant aid will be put towards the upgrading of Nilandhoo School in Gaaf Alif atoll Nilandhoo. The aid is part of Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grass Roots Human Security Projects (GGP) scheme. The agreement was signed between Ms. Yanai Keiko, the Ambassador of Japan to the Maldives and Ms. Khadheeja Ibrahim, the Principal of Nilandhoo School during a ceremony held on Wednesday, 24th November 2021. According to the…

Agoda, one of the fastest growing online travel booking platforms, has signed an associate partnership agreement with Maldives Border Miles, the world’s first destination loyalty program for tourists. The online signing ceremony between Agoda and Maldives Border Miles took place on Wednesday, 24th November 2021. Moreover, the online signing ceremony was honored by the Controller General of Maldives Immigration Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Hussain along with Deputy Minister of Tourism, Dr. Naushad Mohamed and the Chief Executive Officer of Agoda Company Pte. Ltd., Mr. John Brown. In addition to this the ceremony was also attended by the Deputy Managing Director of…

Seaside Finolhu announces an exciting line-up of activities for the festive season, which will commence on 21st December 2021. According to the luxury tourist resort, the activities have been made for everyone from couples to families and groups of friends traveling for their year-end vacations. As such the seasonal activities will begin on the beach with cocktails and a toast to the lively Festive Tree Lighting. Other activities include a Festive Cocktail Party and a Kids and Teens Fashion Show followed with a Festive Night Feast at the Beach Kitchen. Moreover, the festive season activities also include a special lunch…

Seven properties of the Marriott International in the Maldives have signed on a memorandum of understanding with Maldives National University. The MoU signifies the strengthening relations between Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Studies (FHTS) of the national university and tourism industry stakeholders towards human capacity development. “We are honored to collaborate with The Maldives National University and be a part of the journey as the students begin and grow their careers in the thriving hospitality industry in the Maldives. Marriott International values and believes in the substance of learning and training – beyond what we do, we are committed to…

The first vessel acquired by Maldives State Shipping (MSS), a subsidiary of State Trading Organization (STO), berthed at the port of Male’ City on Tuesday, 23rd November. Titled MSS Galena, which is the first cargo ship under the state-owned enterprise arrived in Male’ City with full cargo. Earlier, the vessel transported to neighboring Sri Lank on 30th October for rebranding purposes, and was berthed at Sri Lanka’s main dockyard. Moreover, MSS confirms that the crew members of MSS Galena will be 99% locals. Although MSS Galena is the first cargo vessel to be fully acquired by the shipping wing of…