Author: Mohamed Reehaan
Britain’s largest travel association, ABTA Limited, asked the Maldives to suspend a new tax on foreign sellers of Maldives holidays four days before the President ratified it, leaving UK tour operators to prepare for an offshore registration regime that takes effect on October 1, 2026. ABTA – The Travel Association wrote to Ministry of Tourism and Aviation Mohamed Ameen on August 27, urging the government to pause implementation and consult operators in the UK and other source markets. President Mohamed Muizzu ratified the 8th amendment to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act on August 31, and the law was…
Maldivians heading to Thailand will get shorter welcome from next week. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has told travelers to take note of changes to Thai visa rules that take effect on 15 September, cutting the visa-on-arrival stay for Maldivian passport holders from 90 to 30 days. The ministry said in a notice on Wednesday that Thailand gazetted the revised policy on 31 August, with enforcement beginning on the 15th. Third days is not what Bangkok first had in mind. When the new framework was drawn up, the Maldives sat in the group of countries whose 90-day entitlement was to…
State Pharmaceutical & Medical Supply Corporation Ltd (State Pharma) has signed a distributorship agreement with Hiranis Pharmaceuticals (Pvt) Ltd, adding a Pakistani manufacturer to the list of suppliers feeding medicines into the Maldivian market. The company framed the deal as a step towards a more dependable pipeline. Its stated aim is to keep quality medicines flowing without interruption: the sort of supply-chain resilience that matters in an archipelago where stock has to reach islands scattered across hundreds of kilometers, not just pharmacy shelves in the capital. State Pharma said the agreement strengthens and broadens its international supplier network, and gives…
The State Trading Organization has wrapped up another edition of Dhekunu Foari, its annual gathering of employees based in the south of the country, after six days in Hithadhoo. The format mixes competition with classroom time. Staff were split into five teams and scored on points across the week, with an overall winner declared at the end. Volleyball, chess, badminton, table tennis and carrom all ran as tournaments, each producing a first, second and third place. The training side was the other half of the programme. Participants sat sessions on first aid, fire awareness, telephone handling protocols, team building, and…
The bridge rising between Malé and Thilafushi has been engineered to stand for roughly 120 years. Major maintenance? Once every two decades, according to the Indian contractor building it. S.M. Vishwamurthy, project head at AFCONS, told a local media outlet the structure was designed against strict durability and safety benchmarks, with the Maldives’ punishing marine conditions written into the assumptions from the start. High-grade materials meeting international standards make up the main structure, he said, which is why the core components are not expected to need frequent heavy repair. Wear will still come. Traffic and salt air see to that.…
Abdulla Faaiz has been appointed chairman of the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC). Faaiz brings more than 30 years of experience across business and tourism. He previously served as chairman of the Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and the State Trading Organization (STO). He has also held the posts of managing director at ADK Trade and Shipping, director to the chairman at Villa Shipping and Trading, and director of marketing and promotions at Villa Hotels. Moreover, Faaiz is a founding member of the Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI), the Maldives Traders Association, MNACI, and the Restaurant…
The head of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Development called on President Dr Mohamed Muizzu on Wednesday morning, with the commercial agenda pointed squarely at the Maldives’ tourism industry. Sheikh Yousef Hassan Khalawi, the ICCD’s secretary-general, met the President at the President’s Office. Talks focused on build up the Islamic economy: capacity building, investment, and joint work in hospitality and halal business. Halal tourism, and how to expand it, featured in the discussion. Resorts here have long sold sun and seclusion to European and Chinese travelers, and in a country where tourism drives the economy and dollar earnings, a…
The Maldivian government has raised transfers to local councils by 15.8 percent, according to the Finance Ministry’s latest weekly fiscal report, in one of the sharpest increases across the state’s recurrent spending. Councils have drawn MVR 1.66 billion (USD 108 million) so far this year. That figure sits MVR 227.2 million (USD 15 million) above the same point in 2025. The Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises publishes the Weekly Fiscal Development report, which tracks spending and revenue against the previous year. Salaries and allowances remain the single largest recurrent line. The government has spent MVR 9.39 billion (USD 609…
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has called for closer economic cooperation with Malaysia, casting five decades of diplomatic relations as a foundation for trade, investment and business links between the two countries. Muizzu set out the pitch in separate messages to Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, sent to mark Malaysia’s Independence Day. In his message to the king, Muizzu said the two countries had held warm relations for 50 years, resting on friendship, mutual respect and cooperation. He committed to widening that cooperation and delivering returns for people in both countries. His message to Anwar leaned harder…
Abdulla Yaasir has taken over as chief executive and managing director of Visit Maldives Corporation (VMC). The appointment took effect on Wednesday. Yaasir brings more than 25 years in tourism, hospitality, corporate management and destination development. He entered the industry in 1993. He has run resorts as general manager and served as a director of One&Only Kanuhura. Since 2010 he has led Supersupply and Watermark as managing director. He also chairs the Entrepreneurs Association of Maldives. He studied at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. He holds a bachelor’s degree in hospitality and tourism business management and a…