Minister: Real estate tourism should be introduced to attract celebrities such as Beckham

Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal has cited real estate tourism as the best form of tourism to experience in the moment, adding it will be a success if properly marketed towards billionaires.

In an exclusive interview with Sun on the occasion of the first anniversary of the current administration – Minister Faisal underscored the need to introduce real estate tourism in the Maldives and in this trajectory, lease land plots allocated for the purpose up to 99 years or more.

He said this will be achieved with legal backing, adding a large percentage of billionaires from across the world will invest in the Maldives if real estate tourism is successfully implemented.

“Surely, if real estate tourism is introduced in the Maldives alongside the relevant amendments to the laws and regulations to allow lease of such locations to 99 years or more and in accordance with the complete instructions of the President, a large percentage of world billions will own villas in the Maldives. This is something the Maldives can achieve,” he said.  

“Then, such individuals will receive visa from here to a certain extent. These efforts are being undertaken in an official capacity at present,” he noted.

Minister Faisal referenced how Dubai had undertaken efforts to develop its tourism sector.

In this regard, the Minister noted hearing about David Beckham purchasing a plot of land from Dubai; something which attributed to a marketing tactics utilized.

He affirmed that Maldives will be able to attract two million tourists this year and eventually increase the arrivals to three million or three and a half million per year once the development of Velana International Airport reaches completion.

While there is a significant number of tourist arrivals to Maldives, the Minister underscored the need to change marketing tactics accordingly. In this trajectory, he suggested promoting tourism by appointing a celebrity such as Beckham as an ambassador.

“David Beckham is a prominent celebrity. Why can we not hire David Beckham as an ambassador to promote Maldives tourism industry in the English market? This is what we need to do for Maldivian tourism industry. Today, Dubai’s ambassador is Sharukh Khan,” he detailed.

He emphasized that Maldives was competing with these countries in terms of tourism at present – and henceforth, underscored the need to elevate marketing tactics to new heights.

The Minister added that services and experiences available to tourists in the Maldives are still not available to tourists elsewhere. Nevertheless, he stressed the need to introduce new elements in order to further develop the industry.

“In Dubai, we see huge aquariums. Why can’t we make one in the Maldives. If we develop the strongest aquarium in the world and establish it as a strong tourism landmark, a huge revenue can be generated even by charging just USD 5 from tourists,” he said.

During the Minister’s interview, he also shared the successes achieved by the Maldivian tourism industry in the past years.