One of the top 5 travel destinations for 2021 : Maldives

 

The Maldives is a tourist paradise. The Republic of Maldives is a community of over two thousand small islands stretch between Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. They are inhabited on 230 islands. The language is Divehi, which is associated with the ancient Sinhala language. The main occupation is fishing and coconut cultivation and tourism.

Top Attractions in Maldives

The Maldives is made up of 26 coral islands. There are many islands in each coral reef. In total, there are about 1200 coral reefs in the archipelago. They have a ring shape. In the center of the atoll there is a splash of water. Each atoll in the Maldives is like a pearl necklace. The pearls in that chain are small islands. The area of each small island is one or two square kilometres. Each atoll has many uninhabited islands. The total length of the road is 12 km.

 

 

More specialty of Maldives is, there are many good places to shop in Maldives, especially Mahe, the capital of Maldives. The products we can buy from the markets is craft products, handmade t shirts and jewellery sets.

The Maldives includes the Blue Ocean, White Beaches and the Clean Air. The climate of Maldives is very much suitable for visitors that they can enjoy some special programs such as swimming, fishing, scuba diving, water skiing. The wet sand gives the magical appearance of a bright blue glow of sandy shore that often in warm coastal waters.

There are 24 Best Beach in Maldives which is better to be prepared.

1. Hulhumale Beach – the most popular beach in Maldives.
2. Bikini Beach which is the most romantic beach to flaunt that bod
3. Veligandu island Beach – which gives most peaceful vibes to us
4. Reethi beach – is an luxury epitome like bars and clubs
5. Cocoa island beach– which gives you an exotic experience like scuba diving and place comfort place for spending with your spouse.
6. Vabbinfaru Island – have luxury villas and so much fun activities and can enjoy the candle light dinner.
7. Nika island beaches– it’s for a laid back vacay
8. Fulhadhoo beach– away from the bustling city life which gives you cuddle up with your better half.
9. Lily beach – the most private beach in Maldives , whale submarine is the special thing
10. Baros Maldives–  just like fun with reef snorkelling
11. Bandos Maldives – it is a perfect tropical escape
12. Taj exotica beach – it specify like jewel of south male gives breath taking beauty of beach
13. Kandolhu island beach– its full of emerald water with most colourful recreate things to do here
14. Mirihi Island – it is the lavish resort which includes bars and clubs and most trendy resorts.
15. Four seasons beach– one of the charming beach
16. Kurumba beach– it’s the honeymoon gateway includes special resorts.
17. Sun island beach– includes tropical flowers and resorts and spa is the great value
18. Fihalhohi island–  house reef includes top most restaurants and water spots
19. Bioluminescent beaches– full of glowing dark sand which gives you a special vibe
20. Dhigurah beach–  dive with whale sharks and small guest house for each couple
21. Artificial beach– it is one of the top most in Maldives that man made
22. Rasfannu beach– symphony restaurant is the specialty of this beach
23. Bodu mora– full of coconut tress which includes beach wood hotel
24. Kunburudhoo beach– it is isolated gem to enjoy luxury in nature environment.

Content courtesy : Ms Krishna Suresh Venmalassery

Tourism in the Maldives began in 1972. A United Nations mission on development which visited the Maldives Islands in the 1960s did not recommend tourism, claiming that the islands were not suitable. Ever since the launch of the first the resort in Maldives in 1972, however, tourism in Maldives has flourished. The arrival of the first tourist’s group is estimated to have occurred in February 1972. Tourism in Maldives started with just two resorts with a capacity of about 280 beds. Kurumba Island Resort is the first resort opened in Maldives, followed by Bandos Island Resort. At present, there are over 132 resorts located in the different atolls constituting the Republic of Maldives. Over the decades, the number of tourists in Maldives is rising continuously. In 2009, local island guesthouses started popping up in the Maldives. This was thanks to a change in regulations that began to officially allow tourists to stay among the local population, rather than just on privately owned resort islands. In 2015, a total of 1.2 million tourists visited the Maldives, and another 1.5 million visited in 2016.^[1]

In 2018, the Maldives operated 130 island-resorts. Current work is being undertaken to boost tourism room capacity by constructing another 23 properties, which will include foreign developers such as the Waldorf Astoria, Movenpick, Pullman and the Hard Rock Café Hotel. Extensive upgrades at the Velana International Airport will allow for 7.5 million visitors by early 2019 or 2020.

Tourism in the Maldives has started in 1972 with only three hotels, now – there are more than 100 operational resorts. The unique condition of Maldives is that one island is one resort, meaning that one hotel occupies the whole island. By doing so, resorts provide more privacy and more luxury for their visitors. The Maldives are also trying to stay eco-friendly and use more of solar energy rather than diesel. The Maldives provide facilities and services, entertainment and telecommunication services, they also provide numerous resorts, hotels, guest houses, and liveboards.^{[clarification needed][3][4]}

Overview of a typical tropical resort[edit]

A tourist resort in the Maldives typically consists of an exclusive hotel on its own island, with its population entirely made up of tourists and work force, with no local people or houses.

Those islands developed for tourism are typically 800 by 200 metres in size, and are composed of sand and coral to a maximum height of about 2 metres above the sea. In addition to its beach encircling the island, each island has its own “house reef” which serves as a coral garden and natural aquarium for scuba divers and snorkelers. The shallow water enclosed by the house reef also serves as a large natural swimming pool and protects swimmers from the ocean waves and strong tidal currents outside the house reef.

The buildings on a typical resort include rooms and suites reserved for use by its guests, restaurants, coffee shops, shops, lounges, bars, discos and diving schools. A portion of the island also contains staff lodgings and support services such as catering, power generators, laundry, and a sewage plant. On-island shops offer a wide range of products, such as souvenirs and artifacts. Most resorts offer a wide variety of activities such as aerobics, volleyball and table tennis.

Tourism workers and employers[edit]

Workers of the tourism industry are represented by the Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM). TEAM argues the 25,000 workers employed in the industry face poor conditions and have very low wages (between US$80 to US$235 monthly) given the cost of living.^[5] The employers’ organisation is known as Maldives Association of Tourism Industry.

Ecotourism[edit]

There is some promotion of ecotourism in the Maldives, with resorts emphasizing recycling of heat that is wasted in producing electricity and stricter policies of waste disposal.^[13] Furthermore, the government aims to conserve the natural environment of the islands before they made into resorts by enforcing laws such as prohibition of catching turtles and reduction in the damage caused to the coral reefs.

Nevertheless, the Maldives have frequently come under criticism for their lack of protection of the local shark populations, which have sharply decreased after being hunted extensively for decades. In some areas, sharks have entirely disappeared. Sharks are hunted primarily for their fins. Shark fins are exported from the Maldives to other countries in Asia, where they are regarded as a delicacy. The fins are amputated from the live animals, which are then thrown back alive into the sea.

Although this practice is prohibited by law in the Maldives, these laws are not respected or enforced by the local authorities.^[14]

In 2001, a local environmental organization called Seamarc/Marine savers (known onsite as Reefscapers), set up an ambitious program of reimplantation of coral in damaged areas, on the basis of resort sponsorship.^[15] Many thousands of tourist-sponsored “coral frames” have been successfully transplanted in many resort reefs like Kuda Huraa and Landaa Giraavaru, and are under close survey by marine scientists; they are a refuge for thousands of tropical species, and help to preserve and recover these fragile ecosystems.

“There are big challenges that come with the advantages of the islands’ tourist assets, however,” said Richard Damania, World Bank Lead Environmental Economist. “The country’s coral reefs, which protect it from storm surges and serve as the main attraction for the tourism-driven economy, are in danger of being damaged or destroyed by poorly handled waste disposal methods.” ^[12]

Natural environment[edit]

The Maldives are known for their natural environment including the blue ocean, white beaches, and clean air.^{[citation needed]} The climate of the Maldives is ideal^{[citation needed]} for visitors to get engaged in water sports such as swimming, fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, water-skiing. windsurfing and kite boarding.

The natural environment of the Maldives attracts tourists all over the world and every year.^{[citation needed]} Its tourism industry is today the Maldives’ largest revenue generator.^[16]

Due to their extraordinary underwater scenery and clean water, the Maldives is ranked among the best recreational diving destinations of the world,^[17] with over 60 local dive sites across the islands.^[18] It was also reported to be the world’s most desired honeymoon destination, according to a global survey by Agoda.com.^[19]

The Maldives’ economy is greatly influenced by any climate changes. Tourism sector can be damaged by the increased likelihood of violent storms, damage to coral reefs, and beach erosion, which are now more likely to happen because of the rising seas.

As a consequence of climate change, Maldives is now facing the problem of rising seas and coral reefs bleaching. According to the World Bank, with “future sea levels projected to increase in the range of 10 to 100 centimeters by the year 2100, the entire country could be submerged.” New government has made a decision to fight the rising seas problem with geoengineering projects instead of trying to move the population. The idea is to rent out other islands and even build new islands, so the population of those islands who are more in trouble could be relocated. One of those built islands is Hulhumale.^[10]

It has been also pointed out that some islands can grow naturally.^[11]

World Bank states that, “Rising sea temperatures also threaten the coral reefs and cause bleaching and death, with the most severe damage in areas that are stressed by pollutants, or damaged by physical disturbance. Vulnerability to climate change hazards has been magnified by damage to coral reefs which has in turn impaired their protective function, thus a negative cycle of impact.” ^[12]

The Maldives’ economy is greatly influenced by any climate changes. Tourism sector can be damaged by the increased likelihood of violent storms, damage to coral reefs, and beach erosion, which are now more likely to happen because of the rising seas.

As a consequence of climate change, Maldives is now facing the problem of rising seas and coral reefs bleaching. According to the World Bank, with “future sea levels projected to increase in the range of 10 to 100 centimeters by the year 2100, the entire country could be submerged.” New government has made a decision to fight the rising seas problem with geoengineering projects instead of trying to move the population. The idea is to rent out other islands and even build new islands, so the population of those islands who are more in trouble could be relocated. One of those built islands is Hulhumale.^[10]

It has been also pointed out that some islands can grow naturally.^[11]

World Bank states that, “Rising sea temperatures also threaten the coral reefs and cause bleaching and death, with the most severe damage in areas that are stressed by pollutants, or damaged by physical disturbance. Vulnerability to climate change hazards has been magnified by damage to coral reefs which has in turn impaired their protective function, thus a negative cycle of impact.” ^[12]

 

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