Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed has stated bookings made by tourists are shifted to later dates rather than cancelling the bookings.
Tourism Minister Ali Waheed said after discussions with tourism industry stakeholders, efforts are underway to arrange easier means to shift tourist bookings to later dates following the global novel coronavirus outbreak. In this regard, the minister stated tourists with prior bookings will be provided with other options as some countries have temporary cancelled flights. He said efforts are being exerted to provide tourists with later dates without additional charges.
Furthermore, the tourism minister said from January 26 to February 5, 56,819 beds were booked, of which 24,297 bookings have been cancelled so far. He stated the aim is to promote Maldives as a tourist destination and to maintain providing good services.
Following the novel coronavirus outbreak, several airlines have suspended their flights to various destinations causing a disruption in travelling. Maldives has also temporarily halted all flights to China which caused difficulties for tourists to return to their countries. However, the administration has so far assisted the return of 8 tourists from Argentina and 16 tourists from China.
Maldives still aims to bring in 2 million tourists by the end of the year despite the challenges caused by the coronavirus outbreak.