Maldives Tourism Minister Moosa Zameer has confirmed that the ministry is stepping in to clear confusions of China regarding the ongoing state of emergency.
The move from Tourism Ministry comes at a time when several bookings from China market has been declining amid the the emergency, in consideration to the travel advisory issued by the Asian giant, advising its people to take caution in traveling to Maldives.
Moreover China had advised its citizens to refrain from making vacation visits to Maldives for the duration of emergency.
Several local guesthouse ventures and tourist resorts are experiencing losses due to multiple bookings from China market. According to several local guesthouse owners, China contributes heavily to the budget traveler market and bookings usually are made for large number of tourists traveling in groups, meaning a single booking cancellation could result for an outlet losing more than half of its occupancy.
To counter the receding holidaymakers from China, Tourism Minister Zameer flanked by acting Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC) Haris Mohamed met with Chinese Ambassador to Maldives Zhang Lizhong to discuss on the exact nature of the country's political situation.
Minister Zameer spoke to Avas Online post the meeting, asserting they had discussed on different approaches to avert the current decline of China tourists to Maldives.
"We are trying to proactively inform the Chinese media about the truth of the Maldives situation. We are trying to inform them that the travelers will not be affected at all despite the situation," Zameer said.
Maldives Tourism Ministry indicated China had a total of 306,530 holidaymakers visiting the country during 2017. Chinese travel market contributed a significant 22% in Maldives tourism last year.
