MATATO calls for Government action against attacks on Maldivian tourism industry

The Maldives Association for Tourism and Travel Operators (MATATO) has called upon the Government to investigate campaigns against Maldivian tourism industry and to take proper measures against such campaigns.

MATATO’s request has come in the wake of another call by David Hardingham, former Honorary Consul of the Maldives at Salisbury, the UK, for tourists to avoid travelling to some of the resorts in the Maldives.

According to reports, Hardingham’s call to boycott Maldivian resorts came through a statement issued by the Friends of Maldives (FOM) organization, which Hardingham founded years ago in the UK, with the alleged purpose of promoting human rights in the Maldives.

In a Statement issued today, in response to FOM and Hardingham, MATATO said that FOM is a group of people who have tried to destroy Maldivian tourism, and that the new boycott call is just an addition to the series of efforts directed at that result.

“Tourism industry is one-third of Maldivian economy, and we cannot afford to politicize it. We condemn this act in the strongest of terms”, read the Statement. It also said that at a time when the development of new tourist resorts is put on hold, the Government should take immediate actions against such campaigns against the nation’s tourism sector.

“Most of our employed population work at the tourism sector, and any of the resorts suffer, the whole nation’s economy would face severe consequence, and our people would be driven into starvation”, read the Statement.

MATATO also said that number of tourists to Maldives from Europe has declined at the moment, and that a negative campaign would cause irremediable losses to the tourism industry.

David Hardingham, who had tried to destroy the Maldivian tourism industry during the presidency of Maumoon Abdul Qayyoom has been a bosom friend of Mohamed Nasheed, who became president after Maumoon but had to resign only three years after his election, as a result of widespread criticism and protests against his outright violations of the Constitution and gang-style rule of the country. Hardingham’s attack on the Maldivian tourism industry came first when he was trying to help Nasheed to bring Maumoon down, and the second attack has come when Nasheed was forced by the people of the country to resign.