President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has emphasised a successful economy of a country should be measured by the rising incomes of the citizens.
Delivering remarks outlining the tourism policy of the administration during an event held to commemorate World Tourism Day, President Solih said the tourism policy is intended to directly increase the earnings of those who work in the industry and to ensure the general public is the economic beneficiaries. The president expressed his satisfaction at the pace of progress of the industry which contributes so much to the GDP. He referred to statistics indicating tourist arrivals have increased by about 18.7% in the past year alone.
Furthermore, the president expressed his optimism that investors now seem to anticipate a period of political stability for the future in which the Maldives will honour the contractual obligations. Accordingly, 28 separate investors have expressed interest in undertaking projects in the Maldives and 27 of these have already been approved by the administration. For assessment purposes, the country is currently undertaking a nationwide effort to register and enter into statistical compilations all those employed in the tourism industry. This will allow the administration to evaluate the broad trends pertinent to employment in the tourism industry and calculate options to improve their situation and extrapolate ways to further improve the tourism sphere.
President Solih also shone a light on the 5th iteration of the Tourism Master Plan, which was unveiled tonight, emphasising the plan would allow for an equitable distribution of tourism projects throughout Maldives, so that communities across the entire country will have access to its benefits. The president further remarked it is expected that in the future at least 35,000 jobs relevant to Tourism will be created and a significant portion of these jobs will be reserved for Maldivians who will be trained to ably work in the industry.
Further, President Solih expressed the administration, within the overall matrix of the Land Act, will allocate large plots of land that can be utilised for tourism purposes. Remarking on the importance of working alongside the private sector, the president's words also touched on the need to reduce several of the logistical impediments to businesses interested in working in the tourism sector, to further progress the industry.
He reiterated the administration is committed to working hand in hand with private industries to address such obstacles and enhance the ease of doing business within the tourism industry.