Minister of Tourism Dr. Abdulla Mausoom has stated that the Fifth Tourism Master Plan will be launched at the start of 2023.
Speaking to PSM News, Minister Mausoom said that the master plan will highlight the steps that need to be taken to further develop the Maldivian tourism industry, focusing on making tourism businesses competitive at an international level. The minister said that the master plan will propose ways to develop the tourism industry in an environmentally friendly and socially conscious manner.
Furthermore, Minister Mausoom said that the tourism ministry has completed the validation workshop for the master plan. He assured the plan is nearly complete and that the work is being done by Maldivians as the main consultants with assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He said the next move is to launch the plan at the start of 2023 and pave the way to develop the Maldives as a leading sustainable travel destination.
The master plan will consist of the various tourism-related goals the government plans to complete within a period of five years. ADB has approved the budget for the master plan and hired a team of 10 consultants, with one foreign lead consultant and nine Maldivian consultants.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih launched the Fifth Tourism Master Plan in 2019. The master plan is set to include promoting sustainable development in the main economic sectors as well as enhancing the participation of women in the tourism sector, protecting the environment and utilising sustainable energy in tourism-related activities. Further areas include identifying ways to develop and expand the tourism industry, identifying ways to conserve the heritage and culture through the expansion and promotion of tourism, and increasing job opportunities for locals in the tourism industry.