Ministry of Tourism has revealed the Fifth Tourism Master Plan will be drafted within three months.
The master plan will consist of the various tourism-related goals the government plans to complete within a period of five years. The tourism ministry stated work to draft the master plan was stalled due to complications following the COVID-19 pandemic. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved the budget for the master plan and hired a team of 10 consultants, with one foreign lead consultant and nine Maldivian consultants.
Speaking to PSM News, Senior Executive Director of the Ministry of Tourism Ali Razzan said the ministry hired consultants to draft the plan earlier this year and they are working to complete the draft within three months. He said the plan is being drafted with the help of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and a team of consultants with expertise from various fields. He also said the team is currently working on the individual components in order to publish the master plan within three months. The tourism ministry has stated the master plan will mainly focus on recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih launched the Fifth Tourism Master Plan in 2019. The master plan is set to include promoting sustainable development in the main economic sectors as well as enhancing the participation of women in the tourism sector, protecting the environment, and utilising sustainable energy in tourism-related activities. Further areas include identifying ways to develop and expand the tourism industry, identifying ways to conserve the heritage and culture through the expansion and promotion of tourism, and increasing job opportunities for locals in the tourism industry.