The Maldives has joined the growing list of countries that have
eradicated all Covid-related restrictions for travellers and their
people.
On
4 March, the Maldives announced that it would be removing testing
requirements for fully vaccinated travellers. Previously, travellers
were required to present a negative PCR test before entering the
country, and had to test negative before leaving the Maldives, but all
these have recently been scrapped.
Several days later, on 13 March, the country declared an end
of its state of public health emergency and abolished all of its
remaining Covid-19 restrictions.
President
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said that despite the state of emergency being
lifted, the Maldives’ authorities will still continue to monitor the
Covid-19 situation and won’t hesitate to take action if there are any
further developments with the virus.
Even though the mask mandate has been removed following the
announcement, the authorities still recommend donning a mask in crowded
areas such as gatherings and public transport systems. Wearing a mask is
only made mandatory in all health facilities, regardless of the
Covid-19 status, and in outbreak areas, where sample positivity is above
20%.
The Maldives’ Ministry of Tourism revealed that arrivals so far in
March this year have increased by 50% compared to the arrivals recorded
in the same month last year. However, it is still shadowed by the 81,000
arrivals in March 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic broke loose.
But having welcomed close to 360,000 tourists between 1 January and
16 March, the country’s decision to remove its travel restrictions will
most likely further boost its tourism numbers as travel to the island
paradise is made cheaper, easier, and more attractive compared to other
destinations that still have testing requirements, mask mandates and
other pandemic regulations in place.
Furthermore, the Maldives remains one of the last remaining countries
in the world still open to Russian travellers. Russia has contributed
the greatest number of arrivals to the Maldives in 2022, with close to
50,000 Russian travellers making up the total count of 360,000 tourists.
The country’s other top source markets consist of the UK, India,
Germany, and Italy.
It seems that with the country’s end of restrictions coupled with its
multiple marketing efforts to appeal to the post-pandemic traveller and
eco-conscious traveller, the Maldives looks set on the right course to
achieve President Solih’s aim of welcoming 1.6 million tourists this
year.