Tourism Minister Moosa Zameer on Wednesday announced plans for the construction of five new domestic airports, and informed that work would be contracted out very soon.
Speaking at the ceremony held at Hotel Jen on Wednesday to start the conference for local ambassadors, the Minister stated that it was a priority of the government to spread tourism to all areas of the Maldives.
"Opening domestic airports across the Atolls is also prioritized by President Yameen. It is connected both directly and indirectly to the tourism sector. There is no doubt the amount of tourists to the Maldives would increase because of this," Zameer said.
The Minister further stated that due to the open sky policy employed by the Maldives, new airports would bring in increased flights from international airlines.
Four airports were included in the national budget for this year. However, the government has contracted a Malaysian company for the development of five airports in the Maldives last month. The Minister did not detail the islands where the five new airports are to be built.
