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The Maldives is a land of many islands, rich in natural resources and beauty. Male, the capital of the Maldives, is one of about 1,200 small islands. The islands around Mall, a densely populated city of 7.8 square kilometers, are a major tourist attraction.
The small island of Male, full of coconut and betel trees and other plants, is always crowded. The island has a touch of urbanization in the sea. The sweet air coming from the Nilesagar makes the body and mind lively. When you come here, all the fatigue of travel is gone in an instant. Almost all the pools here have easy access to various types of water sports.
On the ferry to Varunula Rahul Gandhi on the east side of the island of Male, a strangely beautiful sunset can be seen. Malay Island is a great place for surfing and snorkeling. You can’t go here without eating honey (tuna fish, coconut, onion, lemon) and various cold drinks. If you want to eat Bengali food, there are many Bengali restaurants in Male.
It will be a different experience to eat in an underwater restaurant here. You can visit some other places of interest in the city of Male as well as the island of Male. Such as Artificial Beach, Moscow on Old Friday, National Museum, Sultans Park, National Art Gallery, China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, Fish Market and Grand Friday Moscow.
While covering the just concluded 13th SAF Football Championship in Malta, I got acquainted with the amazing natural beauty there. More real than the picture, the more beautiful islands of the Maldives. After a 25-minute speedboat ride from Male to Cross Island, Marina Island, it’s time to just get mesmerized. It is as if nature has arranged the island with its own hands. The blue water of the main attraction with all the conveniences of modernity; Seeing this, Omar Farooq, a Khandaker from Feni who has been living in Male for 14 to 15 years, said, “Every day thousands of people come from all over the world to enjoy the beauty of the Maldives.”
From the airport you can come to Male town by speedboat or trawler. However, tourists do not live in the city of Male. From the airport, everyone went to different resorts arranged on different islands. There are speedboats from Male to various resorts nearby. You can stay even if you want to go there. The cost at the resort is much higher. However, tourists are coming to Maldives without caring about the cost.
According to the latest data, 9 lakh foreign tourists have visited the Maldives this year. The Maldives Tourism Ministry aims to bring in an average of one lakh tourists per month. Hasan Abdullah, a local journalist, said that at present most of the tourists coming to Maldives are from India. The main reason for this is that the airfare from India to Maldives is very low. Male is close to cities like Trivandham and Kochi in India. So many tourists came. The Maldives has now been added to the list of destinations for Bangladeshis.
Kovid-19 caused communications to collapse around the world last year. The Maldives was not free either. Even then, as of December last year, just over three lakh tourists had visited the country.
Many tourists are now coming to Maldives from Asia. Citizens of India and Sri Lanka came. The Maldives is relatively safe among South Asian countries. When the IPL closed in India last year, many players from the Australian cricket team returned to the country via the Maldives. The Australian government then decided that their citizens could not travel directly from India to Australia. So Australian cricketers go home through the Maldives so that there is no risk of corona infection.
Some Indians and Pakistanis work in many countries in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. At that time Indians, Pakistanis or Sri Lankans were not allowed to go to those countries. These citizens quarantine in the Maldives for 14 days and then go to their respective countries.
Many players came to visit Maldives at the end of the last European Cup football tournament. Spend 10-15 days enjoying the natural beauty of today. Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone was in the Maldives for 10 days before the Euros. Real Madrid captain Marcelo arrived last July. Gerard Pique arrived in August last year with his wife and Colombian artist Shakira.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to the Maldives Mohammad Nazmul Hasan said, ‘No tourists came to the Maldives from April to June last year. Because, there was a lockdown in Corona’s attack then. The Maldives border was opened in June this year. The number of tourists has been increasing day by day since December.
The Maldivian government stopped all corona attacks on April 15, 2020, when the first corona patient was caught in Male. Exactly two months later, on July 15, everything reopened. There were many obstacles at first. When you come here, corona sample test, quarantine — everything is made compulsory. Obligation to go directly to the resort and not to get out of there. At the end of April this year, the Maldivian government locked down the second wave of the Corona. Everything was closed from May to June. During the second wave, the tourism industry here suffered another blow.
The Maldives was recognized as the best tourist destination in the world in 2020. Earlier in Asia, they were recognized as the best tourist destination 12 out of 20 times. Last year’s recognition and award was a huge milestone in the development of Maldives’ tourism industry, says Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to the Maldives. Those who did not know about the Maldives also began to know. The tourism department is making a lot of progress in this country. The government is giving maximum support to the tourism industry.
The Maldivian government has signed a two-season deal with Spanish football club Celta Vigo. The Maldives Tourism Ministry has done so as part of various initiatives to bring the country closer to the people. Celta Vigo is using the slogan ‘Visit Maldives’ in their jersey.
Officially, the lion’s share of the Maldives’ national income comes from the tourism sector; After that the contribution of fisheries. According to Habib Ismail, a journalist from Mal, the revenue from tourism in the Maldives has been around Rs 2 billion in the last one year. The government has to pay 12 to 15 percent tax from each resort.
Bangladeshis living in the Maldives say that tourist services do not mean any compromise in the Maldives. It is mandatory to disinfect food in hotels and restaurants. Government food inspectors oversee everything. When they find something bad, they warn them first. If there is no improvement, the government agency closes the business and files a case in the court.
Staying at a resort in the Maldives costs to 100 to 150 a day. It costs to 200 to daly 300 per day to stay in a good resort. Five-star resorts also cost to 600 to 800. Costs are even higher at luxury resorts. Even then many tourists are coming to the island. Tourism in the Maldives has been hit by the drought and now the tide is flowing.
