The Maldives Tourism Industry Association (MATI) said on Monday that it “strongly condemns the derogatory comments made by some deputy ministers on social media platforms”. The India-Maldives dispute erupted over Lakshadweep.
“The Maldives Tourism Industry Association strongly condemns the derogatory comments made by some Deputy Ministers on social media platforms, against the Prime Minister of India, His Excellency Narendra Modi, as well as the people of India. India is one of our closest neighbors and India has always been a first responder to various crises throughout its history and we are extremely grateful for the close relationship that the government as well as the people of India have enjoyed with us,” MATI said in a statement.
More than 2 lakh Indians have visited the Maldives every year in the last three years, the highest of any country post-COVID 19 pandemic, according to official data, PTI reported, amid calls from several sides to boycott the island nation as a travel destination following a diplomatic deal. dispute between the two nations.
According to statistics from the Maldives Ministry of Tourism, over 17,000,000 tourists visited the island nation in 2023, out of which over 2,09,198 visitors were Indians, followed by Russians (2,09,146) and China (1 87 118).
The number of Indian visitors was over 2.4 lakh in 2022, while over 2.11 lakh Indians visited the Maldives in 2021. The Maldives was also one of the few countries open to international tourists during the pandemic and nearly 63,000 Indians visited this country during this period. .
In 2018, India was the fifth largest source of tourist arrivals to the Maldives with 90,474 visitors. In 2019, India reached second place with 1.66 lakh Indians visiting the country.
MATI said on Monday that India had « been a consistent and significant contributor » to the country’s tourism industry and hoped there would be no « adverse impact » on relations between the two countries.
“India has also been a consistent and significant contributor to the Maldives tourism industry.
contributor who greatly aided our recovery efforts during COVID-19, just after reopening our
borders. Since then, India remains one of the main markets for the Maldives. We sincerely hope that the close relations between our two nations will continue for generations to come and
as such, we refrain from any action or speech that could have a negative impact on our good relations,” MATI said.
Maldives faced backlash after three Maldives cabinet ministers made derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his visit to Lakshadweep last week.
Many netizens on social media claimed to have canceled their planned trips to the Maldives due to the controversy surrounding the hashtag “Boycott Maldives”.
Joining the « boycott campaign », EaseMyTrip, an online travel aggregator, said it had suspended all flight bookings to the island nation on its website « in solidarity » with India.
Meanwhile, the Maldives government on Sunday suspended three of its deputy ministers after criticizing Modi for his post on X following his visit to Lakshadweepinferring that it was an attempt to project the Union Territory as an alternative tourist destination to the Maldives.
Maldives’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the government was aware of « derogatory remarks » made on social media platforms against foreign leaders and that personal views did not represent the country’s position.
Amid the row, many prominent personalities, such as film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, on Sunday called on people to explore « Indian islands » and coastal destinations .
Located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the Maldives is home to nearly 1,200 small coral islands that stretch 871 kilometers in length. From personalized spa treatments to adventure sports activities to world-class cuisine, the Maldives offers a myriad of experiences, making it a great choice for visitors.
The beautiful beaches and island experience, coupled with affordable flight tickets, even cheaper than the cost of traveling to some Indian cities, have strongly attracted Indian tourists.
Also on Monday, India summoned the Maldivian envoy to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and expressed serious concern over the remarks made against the Prime Minister.
Former Maldives Sports Minister Ahmed Mahloof expressed concern over the row, saying « Indians boycotting the Maldives » would hit the country hard.
“I am deeply concerned about the escalation of the situation regarding comments about our nearest neighbor. Boycotting Indians in Maldives would have a huge impact on our economy. It would be difficult for us to recover from such a campaign. I call on the government to quickly take serious measures to resolve the problem as quickly as possible,” he said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, global interest in searching for Lakshadweep has reached its peak over the past 20 years, according to Google Trends.
MakeMyTrip said it has seen a 3,400% increase in searches for Lakshadweep on the platform since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the islands.
Modi was in Lakshadweep on January 2 and 3 to inaugurate several projects.
With contributions from PTI
