“Please be a part of our tourism…”: Maldives urges Indians amid strained ties

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Male (Maldives):

Amid strained bilateral relations and a decline in the number of Indian tourists, the tourism minister of the archipelago nation of Maldives urged Indians to visit his country and contribute to the economy. In an interview with PTI, Maldives Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal emphasized the historic ties between his country and India.

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He said, “We have a history. Our newly elected government also wants to work together with India. We always encourage peace and friendly atmosphere. Our people and government will warmly welcome the arrival of people from India. As Tourism Minister, I wish Tell Indians please be a part of Maldives tourism, our economy depends on tourism.

After PM Modi posted pictures and videos of India’s west coast Lakshadweep on his X handle on January 6, three Maldivian officials made derogatory remarks against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media. After this people reacted strongly to Maldives.

Millions of Indians, including many celebrities, have canceled their plans to visit the Maldives. Tourism arrivals figures show that despite being a major tourist country, India has slipped from first to sixth place since January.

According to a sun.mv report published on Monday, the number of tourists from India has dropped by 42 percent in the first four months of this year compared to the first four months of last year.

India was the top tourist market for Maldives earlier this year. In a short span of the year, India has moved to the sixth position among the top tourist markets, according to a news portal report.

According to tourism ministry data, Maldives received a total of 43,991 tourists from India till May 4. Between January and April last year, Maldives recorded 73,785 tourist arrivals. This year the number is 42,638.

The report blamed a sharp drop in Indian tourists after the new administration led by President Mohammad Muizu took power in November last year.

President Muizu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, said after taking office in November that he would follow through on his election promise to expel Indian military personnel from the country. After this India-Maldives relations started to become strained.

Soon after coming to power, Muizu forced the withdrawal of 88 Indian military personnel stationed at three aviation platforms gifted to the Maldives by India. He had earlier accused India of meddling in Maldivian affairs and won the presidential election in September last year with an ‘India Out’ campaign.

Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbor in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and features prominently in the Modi government’s initiatives such as ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’.

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