Amid Soured Relations, Maldives Plans to Hold Roadshows in India to Woo Tourists

New Delhi: In a desperate attempt to woo Indian tourists back to the Maldives, a major tourism body of the country has declared to organize road shows in key Indian cities.

In recent months the number of Indian tourists to the Maldives continues to decline. Worried over it, the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) held discussions with India’s High Commissioner in Maldives, Munu Mahawar, on enhancing travel and tourism cooperation between the two countries.

The Indian backlash on the Maldives tourism industry followed the derogatory remarks against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media by three Maldivian officials after Modi posted photos and video of the Lakshadweep Islands on India’s west coast on January 6.

Thousands of Indians including celebrities cancelled their Maldives trips. Once Indians were top visitors to Maldives, but now India is at the sixth position.

According to the the Maldives’ Ministry of Tourism, this year as of April 10, of the total 6,63,269 tourists arriving, China led with 71,995, followed by the United Kingdom (66,999), Russia (66,803), Italy (61,379), Germany (52,256) and India (37,417).

After discussions took place at a meeting held at the Indian High Commission in Male, MATATO said in a statement that they expressed their intention to collaborate closely with the Indian High Commission in Maldives to bolster tourism initiatives, Sun.mv news portal reported.

“In this trajectory, plans are currently underway to launch comprehensive road shows across key Indian cities and to facilitate influencer and media familiarisation trips to the Maldives in the upcoming months,” it said quoting from the statement.

“While India remains a crucial tourist market to the Maldives, MATATO states they look forward to partnering with prominent travel associations and industry stakeholders across India to further promote the Maldives as a premier travel destination,” it said.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu is known for his pro-China leanings, which has also deteriorated the relations of the island nation with India.