Tourism Minister Ali Waheed has announced that Maldives will commence “safe tourism” within three months where government will target to make Maldives a COVID-19 free country.
Speaking at an online session of the Economic Committee of the parliament, Minister said that Maldivians can breathe a sigh of relief if the country could take a step back from the current safety measures put in place, if those measures are implemented well enough.
“With in the next three months, the Maldives will become the first COVID-19 free country in the Asia region hopefully. We are conducting surveys to begin safe tourism when we reach that road,“ said Minister.
The Minister further added that the government’s first and foremost priority was the safety of its citizens and that the government was taking steps to ensure that the businesses of investors do not fall apart.
“No leader of any country in the world is able to predict when they can overcome the crisis, and until a vaccine for the virus is found the world will be in a state of anxiety where rapid decisions will be taken,” said the Minister.
“We still view this situation as the edge of the storm. Until a vaccine is found, we should not lose focus and get distracted from the seriousness of the situation.”
He added that Maldives had targeted two million tourist arrivals and that tourist arrivals into the country, which has been completely halted due to the pandemic. The Minister stated that if things go well, the country can start welcoming tourists once again in the last quarter of the year hopefully.
