Maldives Seeks India Rapprochement After Tourism Backlash

Male, Jan 9 (PTI) Facing a backlash following the diplomatic row between India and the Maldives, tourism bodies on Tuesday from the archipelago nation sought rapprochement of relations with New Delhi to avert a “potential adverse impact” on its tourism sector that is its "lifeblood".

The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) and the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) efforts to reach out to Indians came on when President Mohamed Muizzu appealed to China, during his visit to that country, to intensify efforts to send more tourists to his country, amid a spate of cancellation of reservations by Indian tourists after a diplomatic row erupted over the derogatory remarks by his ministers against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

MATI's condemnation of and MATATO's apology for the remarks came two days after a full-blown backlash directed at the Maldives following the derogatory remarks against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media by three deputy ministers at the Maldives Youth Ministry after Modi posted photos and video on X after he visited the pristine Lakshadweep Islands on India's west coast on Saturday.

According to the Maldives Tourism Ministry statistics, over 17 lakh tourists visited the island nation in 2023, out of which more than 2,09,198 visitors were Indians followed by Russians (2,09,146) and China (1,87,118).

The number of Indian visitors was more than 2.4 lakh in 2022 while over 2.11 lakh Indians flew to the Maldives in 2021. The Maldives was also one of the few countries open for international tourists during the pandemic and nearly 63,000 Indians visited that country during that period.

Extending a "sincere apology" for the hurt caused by the derogatory remarks by some of its deputy ministers against Modi and Indians, MATATO, in a letter, to the CEO of EaseMyTrip, an online travel platform in India, sought rapprochement of relations with India to avert a “potential adverse impact” on tourism that is the lifeblood of the archipelago nation.

CEO Nishant Pitti announced the suspension of all flight bookings to the island nation on its website in solidarity with India.

“Tourism stands as the lifeblood of the Maldives, contributing over two-thirds of our GDP and providing livelihoods to approximately 44,000 Maldivians who work directly in the tourism sector. The potential adverse impact on tourism holds the power to unleash severe repercussions on our economy, affecting the lives and well-being of many,” MATATO said.

Referring to the derogatory remarks for which three deputy ministers were suspended by the Maldives government, the MATATO letter said recent events have cast a somber shadow on the relationship between India and Maldives and extended its “sincere apologies for the hurt caused by these remarks.”

Earlier, MATI said in a statement here: “MATI strongly condemns the derogatory comments made by some Deputy Ministers on social media platforms, directed towards the Prime Minister of India, His Excellency Narendra Modi as well as the people of India.”

Stating that India has also been a “consistent and significant contributor to the Tourism industry of the Maldives” and calling India “one of the closest neighbours and allies,” the MATI said, “India has always been a first responder to various crises throughout our history and we are immensely grateful to the close relationship that the Government as well as people of India have maintained with us.”

In Beijing on Tuesday, Muizzu, in his address to the Maldives Business Forum in Fujian Province on the second day of his five-day state visit, termed China as the island nation's “closest” ally and sought to remind that China was Maldives' number one market pre-Covid.

“It is my request that we intensify efforts for China to regain this position,” the President said, according to a statement on his official website.

Before COVID, China held the top spot with over 2.80 lakh tourists but is currently struggling to revive its domestic and foreign tourism due to a nearly four-year lockdown policy and the continued slowdown of its economy.

Incidentally, despite all the social media hype, a cruise liner from India arrived in the Maldives on Monday “with a substantial number of tourists,” marking the first cruise liner visit this year, state-run PSM News reported.

The cruise liner originating from Kochi in Kerala accommodated around 2,000 tourists and had previously made stops in Mumbai and Goa before reaching the Maldives, it said quoting Maldives Association of Yacht Agents (MAYA).

The Maldivian government had on Sunday suspended the three deputy ministers, and followed it up on Monday by informing India's High Commissioner Munu Muhawar that the derogatory remarks made by those three do not represent its views and reaffirmed Maldives' continued support for its neighbour.

The meeting came after India summoned the Maldivian envoy in New Delhi, Ibrahim Shaheeb, on Monday to the external affairs ministry and conveyed strong concern over those derogatory remarks by the three ministers.