After almost four months of Tourism closure imposed in order to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, Maldives is all set to welcome international tourists July 15 onwards. The island nation’s president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, in a special address, announced that liveaboards, resorts and hotels located at uninhabited islands will be opened for foreign tourists from July 15.

Solih also announced that the hotels, resorts etc. on inhabited islands are to be reopened from August 1. The President also pointed out that the nation relies heavily on tourism industry, since it accounts for the largest forex earnings, making it the biggest economic contributor.

The country’s tourism sector came to a standstill owing to the stringent public health measure adopted by the authorities in order to curb the spread of Covid-19. However, Maldives is now ready to welcome foreign guests once again. Taking into account the safety of the staff working in the industry as well as the tourists, the tourist sector is gearing up for resumption in compliance with protective measures.

The Maldivian Ministry of Tourism has also released a set of guidelines for the resumption of tourist activities in a document titled “Public Health Interventions to Prevent Covid-19 Transmission in the Tourism Sector”. The document contains comprehensive information regarding the standard operating procedures for all sectors across tourism industry, as well as some crucial guidelines for the tourists.

According to the guidelines, tourists are not required to produce a certificate or test result indicative of negative status for Covid-19 prior to entry into Maldives. In addition, the tourists are not to be charged anything extra. The guidelines also state that there is no requirement for quarantine if a tourist has no Covid-19 symptoms.

As per the latest travel guidelines issued by Maldives, people with a history of contact with a confirmed or suspected case of Covid-19 within the past two weeks, and people showing any symptoms related to Covid-19 such as cough, fever, shortness of breath etc. are advised not to travel to the country.

Upon their arrival, all tourists will be required to submit a health declaration, which is to be completed onboard the aircraft. The border health and aviation procedure states that a passenger showing any symptoms of a viral infection such as cough, shortness of breath or high fever while on board the flight needs to be put under the notice of the Health Protection Agency. These guidelines, however, are subject to change depending upon the Covid-19 scenario in the country post resumption of tourist activities.

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