The Government is providing councils with the technical assistance needed to plan tourism projects according to their requirements, State Minister at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation Abdulla Niyaz said.
The Government has placed particular emphasis on expanding tourism throughout the Maldives and is undertaking extensive efforts towards this goal. As part of these efforts, it is allocating islands and lagoons in the north and south for various tourism purposes while also working to develop local tourism on inhabited islands.
Speaking on PSM News' Raajje Miadhu programme, State Minister Niyaz said the Government is working with councils on several initiatives to expand tourism across different parts of the Maldives. He said the Government consults councils and provides the technical assistance needed to facilitate tourism development in accordance with their plans.
"We work with councils to plan projects according to their requirements and hold consultations with them, including through memorandums of understanding. We provide the technical assistance they require and work closely with them to help introduce the products they want in areas we identify together, including by assisting with bid documentation and providing the necessary technical advice," State Minister Niyaz said.
State Minister Niyaz said developing tourism on inhabited islands would bring significant benefits to the economic and infrastructural development of individual islands. He added that these efforts would increase tourism bed capacity and lead to the introduction of new tourism products in the future.
Turning to the geographical distribution of the tourism industry, State Minister Niyaz said tourism in the Maldives is currently concentrated mainly in the central region because of transport connectivity and other factors. He said the Government is working to change this pattern by giving particular priority to developing tourism in the north and south.
State Minister Niyaz also said an airport becomes feasible when an area has between 6,000 and 8,000 tourism beds, adding that major tourism projects have been planned in connection with such airports. He said the Government's policy is to ensure that every region benefits from tourism, with the aim of implementing an inclusive policy that allows all Maldivians to benefit equally from the sector.