President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Tuesday sent felicitations to all Maldivians on the occasion of World Tourism Day. In his address on the occasion of World Tourism Day, the President encouraged tourism sector partners to further contribute to the development of the nation’s transportation infrastructure in order to facilitate further industry growth. He said that “when the targets are achieved, the resulting rapid increase in would further add to current returns.”
He stated that “a collaborative push by all Maldivians was crucial for the sustainable development of Maldivian tourism.” He underscored that this year’s World Tourism Day theme, "Tourism for all – Promoting Universal Accessibility", rang true to his administration’s outlook thus confirming we were headed in the right direction.
Highlighting that the one of the administration’s highest priority was expanding and diversifying the tourism industry; he touched on the work being undertaken to further develop the sector. The President said that “while four new resorts have started operations thus far, a further nine more are scheduled for completion before the end of this year.” Additionally, the President highlighted that “while the Maldivian tourism sector is thriving, administration efforts to expand and develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport to cater to the increasing demand of the industry would further open the gates towards catering to 7.5 million visitors per year – increasing the gains from the sector several fold.”
In his address, President Yameen noted with pride the nation’s status as a shining example of tourism development and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to continuously reinvigorate the industry. He said that the establishment of the “Maldives Integrated Tourism Development Corporation”, with a view towards encouraging more medium sized ventures within the industry would nurture integrated tourism development projects in Maldives. The President went on to add that further developmental projects were underway and he wished all partners, both direct and indirect, greater success and prosperity.