The Maldives is a tropical paradise that has successfully contained COVID-19, which is widespread in the country and still manages tourism. In order to further develop tourism, the Maldives plans to start vaccinating tourists in the future. This was stated by the Minister of Tourism Abdullah Mausum.
He said that the Maldives will introduce a “3V Program”, which consists of “visits, vaccinations and vacations.” This is done in order to bring back travelers and help the country reach its goal of 1.5 million tourists in 2021. The minister said nearly 350,000 tourists had visited the Maldives so far, most of them from India.
He also added that almost 90 percent of frontline tourism workers received their first dose in the country, and once everyone is vaccinated, the country will begin its vaccination program.
The Maldives aims to receive 1.5 million tourist arrivals this year. @Mausoom_Maus, Maldives Tourism Minister shares more about the country’s “visit, vaccinate, vacation” initiative. @MoTmv pic.twitter.com/ZanAX0GsW2
— CNBC International (@CNBCi) April 14, 2021
“The basic idea of open tourism is to ensure safe tourism with minimal inconvenience. So as soon as the country is vaccinated, we will move to 3V tourism,” Mouse said. .
Despite the lack of clarity on the timeline for vaccinating visitors, the minister said it would not begin until residents have been vaccinated. So far, almost 51.5 percent of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 4.8 percent have been fully vaccinated.