Maleeh backs plan to jointly promote Maldives-Lanka tourism

Deputy Minister for Tourism Mohamed Maleeh Jamal has backed President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik's proposal to the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the two countries to promote tourism jointly. Maleeh said that the brand of tourism promoted by Sri Lanka and that of the Maldives are different thus no conflict would arise from both countries conducting tourism promotion together. “Maldivian tourism and Sri Lankan tourism are...

Read More

Exploring Sri Lanka's tea estates

Sitting back with a cuppa, you could hardly be further away from the tea estates and their green oceans which cover the slopes in and around the city of Ratnapura in Sri Lanka. Haveeru's Ali Naafiz goes on a two-day journey to search for some unique blends of pure Sri Lankan Tea. When I was asked by a friend to join him and his crew on a trip to document the tea plantations in Sri Lanka, I was so excited to see the much-hyped estates for the...

Read More

A FLOATING GOLF COURSE? IT COULD BE COMING SOON TO THE MALDIVES

When you’re playing the new course planned for the Maldives in a few years, beware of the water on 1 … and 2 … and 3 … and 4 … Golf course designers are a borderline crazy breed to begin with, but even by their standards, this is off the wall: plans for an entire floating golf course in the Maldives. The creation of the Maldivian government, Troon Golf and Waterstudio, a Dutch architecture firm, the $520 million course is designed to combat...

Read More

TOURISM ASSESSMENT OF THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION

(eTN) – Much is being discussed on an ongoing basis on the state of tourism in the world and this also covers the Indian Ocean region. The yield from tourism, the offers launched to attract tourists, visitor arrival numbers, and comments posted by respective tourism trade members are constantly being monitored by tour operators, press, and investors. During the last couple of weeks, offers to coincide with EID were being floated and analyzed,...

Read More

REVENUE FIGURES REVEAL ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CHANGE IN LEASE EXTENSION POLICY

The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) released figures earlier this week showing the extent to which the change in island lease payments has affected the Maldivian economy. According to MIRA’s figures, the total revenue projected for March was Rf1044 million [US$ 68 million], but had received 37.9 percent lower than the projected revenue “mainly due to the unrealised revenue from the Lease Extension Period.” MIRA had anticipated...

Read More

Maldives Travel Awards open for voting

Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) has officially opened the opportunity for the public to vote for the nominees in the "GMR Maldives Travel Awards 2012." Award event organizer, High Rise detailed that the voting has begun early Wednesday morning and voters worldwide can register and vote for the nominees via travelawards.mv/vote. High Rise added that the voters can register through facebook or email as well. High...

Read More