Minister of Tourism Dr. Abdulla Mausoom has attributed the fast recovery of the Maldives’ tourism industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic to collaborative decision making initiated by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. He made the statement while speaking at the World Tourism Industry Conference (WITC) held in Ulsan, South Korea.
Speaking at the conference, Tourism Minister Mausoom said the Maldives also faced severe hardships when borders had to be closed for more than three months at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The minister said decisions on reopening borders and managing the tourism industry amid the pandemic were made through a collaborative decision-making process with key stakeholders of the tourism and health sectors. He praised President Solih for leading a successful recovery of the tourism industry after reopening borders.
In his speech, Minister Mausoom highlighted the importance of safety in tourism. He also spoke about community-based tourism and eco-tourism during the conference.
WTIC 2022 was held in Ulsan from June 24-25. Held in collaboration with the 37th Seoul International Tourism Industry Fair (SITIF) 2022, the World Tourism Industry Conference was hosted by UNWTO, International Tourism Forum (ITF) and Ulsan Metropolitan City. It was organized by Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) and Korea World Travel Fair (KOTFA).