South of Maldives looks ahead to tourism expansion

By David Browne
LONDON (eTN) — Plans to develop the most remote part of the Maldives into a new tourist zone have been unveiled to the tourism industry in London. The project will bring prosperity and new jobs to Addu Atoll, and particularly the island of Gan, in the southern-most part of the Maldives.

New career opportunities in the hotel and catering sector and demand for local expertise and opportunities to sample Maldivian culture will boost employment for the islanders and will contribute to the overall growth of the economy of the region, where there is an enduring longing and welcome for visitors especially from Great Britain.

Gan is a former British military base and the former Royal Air Force station is currently used as an airport for domestic flights from the capital Malé. Gan airport is being upgraded to international standards and could be ready to receive direct flights from London next year. The Maldives Tourism Development Board is in talks with charter flight operators in the UK and one well-known company has already been signed up.

The British forces vacated Gan thirty years ago, but left a concrete runway and a range of buildings that have since been adapted to local use, including clothing factories and homes. A disused 18-hole golf course could also be rehabilitated as a tourist facility in the development of Gan as a leisure destination.

Addu Atoll already has a hotel complex, Equator Village Resort, which is popular with visitors, especially divers who benefit from some of world's best coral reef dive grounds. As well as fine natural reefs and clear water, the seas have some accessible Second World War wrecks that have become colonized with coral and sea life.

In a presentation to tourism leaders and travel journalists meeting at the recent World Travel Market in London, the director-general of MTPB, Dr. Abdulla Mausoom, said that new hotels are to be built on four islands in the south of Maldives, providing 300 extra beds. "We need the additional capacity because we always have a shortage of beds in peak season," he said. "Visitor numbers are down from two years ago but we are running at average 82 percent occupancy all year round."

The initiative to develop new resorts is set to change the tourist map of Maldives. Existing resorts are concentrated in the middle of the Maldives archipelago, within easy reach by boat or seaplane from the capital's international airport. Tourism is relatively scarce in the south.

"By 2012, the year the Olympic Games come to Britain, visitors to the Maldives will be even more spoilt for choice arriving at one of two international airports and choosing between a wide variety of new experiences," Dr. Mausoom told tourism industry leaders.

Hollywood star Tom Cruise and his new wife, Kelly Holmes, chose the Maldives for their honeymoon, and the massive publicity about it has raised the profile of Maldives as a holiday destination in the United States market. Currently the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Japan are the main source markets for tourists to the Maldives.

The population of Addu has risen rapidly in recent years to about 28,000, living on six of the islands that comprise the atoll. The population is projected to rise to 50,000 by 2025. It is the second most densely populated atoll in the Maldives after Malé. Tourism development is vital to ensure future prosperity of the region and to provide sustainable incomes for local people.

The development plan includes the concept of community island hotels on large inhabited islands, which will be a first for the Maldives. Up to now, hotel complexes have been confined to previously uninhabited islands on the principle of one island on resort, and contact with local people and culture is limited to day excursions to nearby local islands.

"The Maldives is seeing record numbers of visitors arriving each day, winter and summer, peaking at around 600,00 annually," said Dr. Mausoom. "We know the ‘one island one resort' concept in the Maldives is entirely successful and in time we are very likely to welcome one million visitors a year at some 139 resorts."

The tourism development plan includes another first for the Maldives, the creation of a new public company in which Maldivian citizens will be able to invest in a 55 per cent majority of shares. The government will hold the remaining 45 per cent of stock.

The creation of a new southern tourist zone is part of a tourism master plan that includes the development of 35 new resorts on previously uninhabited islands. It's understood that 20 of the new island leases have been allocated and are to be developed into ten luxury resorts and also ten medium-range hotels to address the demand for more affordable accommodation in the Maldives. The destination is increasingly popular with tourists seeking a bargain stay in an exotic resort, who travel on cheap charter flights promoted by tour operators in Europe, in addition to the up-market visitors who revel in the five-star luxury of Maldives hotels and exclusive private islands.

As well as Tom Cruise and his wife, the football star David Beckham and his pop star wife Victoria are occasional visitors to the Maldives. Sports personalities and show-business celebrities appreciate the Maldives because they can enjoy an exotic sun-drenched holiday in private at any time of the year, assured that paparazzi photographers and the public will not pester them.

Gan island in the Addu Atoll has great potential for tourism development. It has sumptuous vegetation, palm trees and green fields. Most islanders speak English, a legacy of the British occupation from 1941 to 1976. There are good roads and numerous nature hiking paths and pristine beaches with clear water. A network of causeways links Gan to four neighbouring islands and dive sites.

A special attraction for divers is the wreck of the British Loyalty, a cargo ship scuttled in the Second World War and lying in 30 meters of water. A fixed line helps divers explore the site where coral, fish and turtles are plentiful. A well-equipped dive school based at Equator Village Resort on Gan island offers basic and advanced training courses accredited by PADI, the world diving standards authority.

Until direct flights to Gan begin to operate next year or in 2008, Addu Atoll is reached by a one-hour flight from Malé International airport. The flight itself is a delight for the views it gives of the numerous coral atolls that make up the Maldives and straddle the Equator in the Indian Ocean.

November 28, 2006   Posted in: Maldives