Parliament asked for opinion on reopening Maldives for tourism

Tourism Minister Ali Waheed has asked the Parliament for its opinion regarding the guidelines it has drafted on easing the restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Maldives and reopen the country for tourism.

The guidelines cover the issuance of a Safe Tourism License to tourist facilities, and mandatory testing of tourists upon arrival.

Ali Waheed, in his letter to the Parliament, said that the Safe Tourism Guidelines had been drafted following analysis of similar strategies employed by other countries, and were in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

He asked that the Parliament submit its recommendations to the Tourism Ministry regarding the guidelines by May 25.

The review of the guidelines was tasked to the Parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee at the virtual parliamentary meeting held on Wednesday morning.

Assigning the task to the committee, Parliament Speaker, former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed asked that the committee begin its review immediately, and that it seek counsel from relevant experts for the task.

The Safe Tourism Guidelines were drafted by Tourism Ministry following discussions with industry stakeholders.

It states that the Safe Tourism License Safe Tourism License shall be issued to resorts which comply with a specific set of standards which includes: allocation of 10 percent of registered guest rooms for isolation purposes, allocation of facilities for quarantining staff equivalent to 10 percent of staff population, training guest service staff in the use of PPEs, social distancing procedures, disinfection procedures, and emergency procedures on dealing with suspected cases of COVID-19.

The resorts must also have an adequate stock of medically certified PPEs.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Only resorts issued Safe Tourism License will be permitted to serve tourists.
• A licensing fee of USD 50,000 is applicable for issuance of Safe Tourism License.
• Tourists are required to produce a negative PCR report dated maximum 7 days prior to landing in Maldives (or) a positive anti body test report taken maximum two weeks prior to landing in Maldives at the designated airport on arrival.
• A special tourist visa fee of USD 100 for arrivals will be applicable until further notice by the government.
• Tourists are required to submit valid travel insurance with medical coverage for the entire duration of stay.
• PCR test must to be done on arrival, and tourists must remain in their room in the resort until they receive the results of the PCR test.
• Tourists must be provided with a detailed web-based check-in option to be completed in their room.
• Maldives will be reopened for super yachts and private jets in June.
• Maldives will be reopened for commercial flights in July.

Ali Waheed set down for a virtual meeting with industry stakeholders regarding the guidelines on Tuesday. He is said to have asked for their opinion and recommendations as well.