Deputy Secretary General of Maldives Association for Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO), Asra Naseem has said that major challenges facing the tourism sector, such as oversupply, lack of human resources and ensuring environmental sustainability can be addressed if all stakeholders work together.
Speaking on Talk Maldives TV programme aired on PSM News, the Deputy Secretary General of Maldives Association for Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO), Asra Naseem, said that as a destination the country faces over supply, lack of human resources and environmental issues.
"Well, we are in a time, where increased supply is not in demand, which creates a lot of issues, which we already witness. I think oversupply is a huge challenge faced by the tourism industry in the Maldives. And also not having enough human resources will be another challenge that we will face. And also environment sustainability will be a challenge for us. The construction of resorts located in areas with unique and fragile eco-systems can cause a permanent re-structuring of environments, and sometimes destroying the original eco-systems, this also could another challenge, environmental sustainability,” Asra Naseem said on the programme.
Asra Naseem said that these issues can addressed only by tourism sector stakeholders aggressively working together to market the destination, holding more training programmes to increase human resources and implement policies to protect and ensure environmental sustainability.
"I think destination marketing is very important, I think we need to showcase our destination more aggressively, and also at individual levels. It's not just the responsibility of the government to showcase the destination. So, I think at individual also we have to do it. And we have to take part in more travel fairs and road shows and do more PR activities in different regions and different markets and explore new markets and explore potential new markets, which is emerging,” the Deputy Secretary General of MATATO said.
In conclusion the Deputy Secretary General of MATATO noted that the tourism industry is a good sector for women to work, urging interested girls to pursue careers in the industry. She noted that MATATO has many programmes planned for next year to further assist in promoting the country and providing training for those working in the sector.