Author: Mohamed Reehaan

Tourist arrivals to the Maldives have reached a total of 498,235 as of 13th April 2022, reflecting an annual increment of 45.3%. Meanwhile, the tourist arrivals to the Maldives has increased in comparison with both 2021 and 2020, where it stood at 342,840 and 382,762 respectively. However, tourist arrivals to the island nation has still not breached the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. The annual tourist arrival to the country in 2019 stood at 551,527, due wot which the annual arrival in 2022 was still below 9.7% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, from 01st to 13th April, the total number of…

The vacant position of Managing Director of Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has been officially filled with new managerial appointment. According to MACL, Mr. Majoob Shujau has been officially appointed as the new Managing Director of the company after the position had been vacant since 10th November 2021. The position became empty in last November after the previous Managing Director Mr. Gordon Andrew Stuart was terminated following underperformance. Following Stuart’s departure, the company was managed under the vision and tutelage of its Deputy Chief Officer Mr. Ibrahim Thoha who has since been promoted as MACL’s Deputy Managing Director. Furthermore, the…

Fish prices in Male’ Fishing Market has dwindled in light of increase in fishing volume, reports local news media. Reports confirm that the volume of oceanic fish such as skipjack tuna and bonito have increased resulting in a decline in its market prices. The average prices are maintained currently between MVR25 to MVR30 per kilogram for oceanic fish. Despite increment most of the ocean fish categories, there is still a noticeable struggle in acquiring yellowfin tuna owing to scarcity. Currently yellowfin tunas are sold between MVR60 to MVR80 per kilogram. Around the beginning of the Islamic sacred month of Ramadan,…

World Bank in their latest regional update titled; Reshaping Norms: A New Way Forward, claimed that the Maldives real GDP is expected to grow by 8.5% in 2022 and by another 9.1% percent in 2023. Moreover, the real GDP growth for medium-term is at 7.6% in 2022 and in 2023 it is expected to rise up to 10.2%. According to World Bank, due to the successful vaccination programs, Maldives saw a “robust recovery in the tourism sector” despite repeated Covid waves. Touris arrivals were catching up to pre-pandemic levels in the second half of last year, however it still stayed…

The Bank of Maldives (BML) has confirmed that its BML Islamic customers can now apply for Personal Financing facilities via internet and mobile banking platforms. According to the bank, “as part of changes to offer better banking and easy access to services” its BML Islamic customers can now log in via the online banking platforms to apply for the facilities. The BML Islamic Personal Financing is perfect for salaried individuals and retirement pension earners to finance up to MVR300,000. Moreover, BML Islamic Personal Financing portfolio also allows the option of cash financing in addition to the purchase of goods and…

On Thursday, 14th April 2022, State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) reported power interruptions in specific locations of Male’ City. According to the utility provider, the power cuts were faced due to damages sustained to one of the main power distribution valves during a site digging at Hulhumale’. Furthermore, STELCO noted that parts of Male’ City are powered through the Interconnection Grid from Hulhumale’, which resulted in power cuts to several locations of the Maldives capital. The issue was resolved as of Thursday afternoon when, around 12:59hrs, one of STELCO’s media spokesperson confirmed that the Greater Male’ Interconnection Grid has been…

Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has confirmed on carrying out a preliminary survey prior to a planned salary increment for all of its staff. Mr. Ibrahim Thoha, the current Deputy Managing Director of MACL spoke at a ceremony held to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the company on Tuesday morning, said that management was currently attempting to assess possible salary increments. “We have prospective plans of commencing operations of the world’s largest seaplane terminal sometime within the second quarter while the new runway and fire station will be brought into operational capacity sometime during the third quarter,” Mr. Thoha spoke…

Moji Maldivi in association with Visit Maldives has taken part in Place2Go 2022 to promote and strengthen the Maldives visibility and brand presence in the Croatian market. The international tourism fair, held annually since 2012 was held from 08th to 10th April 2022 in its most recent edition. Every year, the Place2Go travel trade event reportedly attracts more than 15,000 visitors while over 200 exhibitors from over 35 countries participate in the event promoting their respective tourism industries and products. Maldives took part in the event to promote the island nation as a popular honeymoon and luxury travel destination. At…

The relative pushback on upgrade works of Koodoo Fisheries Complex has resulted in Maldives Parliament proposing a summoning of Minister of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan for questioning. It was confirmed that the parliament will be summoning the minister due to the delay in upgrading the storage capacity for MIFCO operated in the island. Earlier, it was reported that several fishing vessels have faced issues in selling their catch to Koodoo due to insufficient storage capacity. Owing to lack of storage capacity, Koodoo announced it will be purchasing 5 tons of fish from each vessel; further…

Ooredoo Maldives on Tuesday, 12th April, has launched its SuperNet Fixed Broadband services in Gaaf Dhaal atoll Hoadehdhoo. The internet service providers SuperNet provides fixed broadband packages with speeds up to 100 mbps. Meanwhile, the Chief Commercial Officer of Ooredoo Maldives Mr. Hussain Niyaz affirmed that the internet service provider remains committed in providing internet services with desirable benefits including larger data allowances, higher speeds and data rollover services. Recently Ooredoo Maldives had revamped its SuperNet plans providing up to five times the internet speeds than before, with 100% larger allowances including SuperNet add-ons. Additionally, Ooredoo Maldives is the first…