Eight resorts in operation during lockdown: stats

Tourism Ministry's statistics have shown that 8 tourist resorts remained operational while the archipelago was in lockdown.

The tourism dependent island nation closed its borders to tourists on March 27 as a precautionary measure against COVID-19. According to the ministry, 8 out of the 157 resorts in the Maldives were in operation during the lockdown, and a combined total of 1256 tourist beds were occupied at the time.

The resorts in operation are Four Seasons Private Island, Four Seasons Resort Maldives At Landaa Giraavaru, Lily Beach Resort, LUX* Male’ Atoll, Oblu by Atmosphere Helangeli, Soneva Fushi Resort, Angsana Resort and Velaa Private Limited. Several tourists were in isolation at the resorts, and families of the owners of some of the resorts were also on holiday at some properties.

The Maldives is preparing to re-open its borders on July 15 after a hiatus of over three months. 30 resorts will begin operation at the time of border reopening, and additional 25 resorts will resume operation in August. The remaining resorts are expected to reopen in October.

The number of tourists who visited the Maldives during the first quarter of the year is 382,760, a decline of 40.8 percent compared to the 646,092 tourists that visited the archipelago during the first quarter of 2019. As per a study conducted by Maldives NAtional University, 450.134 tourists are expected to visit the MAldives during the remainder of the year. This will give a total tourist arrival of 800,000