Tourism Ministry permits 110 guesthouses to operate

The Tourism Ministry of the Maldives has so far permitted 110 guesthouses in different islands of the nation to open for business. 

The government of the Maldives had only permitted guesthouses to restart operations on October 15, after the outbreak of COVID-19 led to a lockdown on the nation back in March. Resorts and safaris were permitted to operate on July 15, however, guesthouses were permitted after the introduction of stringent safety measures. 

So far, 110 guesthouses have been permitted to operate. The operational guesthouses are required to have a flu clinic and tourists and residents of the island where the guesthouse is located are required to wear masks. A separate number of beds are also be kept aside just for quarantine purposes. 

The 110 operational guesthouses are a total of 2,202 beds. These guesthouses are located across the nation and include major local tourism hotspots such as K. Atoll, A. A. Atoll, and V. Atoll as well. 

While the nation has more than 10,000 tourist beds in terms of guesthouses, the industry is a direct source of income for at least 6,000 people. There are guesthouses located in 86 islands of the nation.