Tourism operators in the Maldives have hailed the government’s enforcement of a minimum wage for local workers across all industries and sectors, a move which would significantly benefit workers in the tourism sector.
Tourism is the country’s biggest foreign exchange earning industry with close to 50,000 workers across more than 150 resorts, of which nearly 50 per cent are locals. The minimum wage decision, being enforced for the first time in the Maldives, would come into effect from January 2022.
“This is a very welcome move. It’s a good win for the tourism industry,” said Abdulla Ghiyas, past president of the Maldives Association of Travel & Tour Operators, who was among stakeholders including government agencies that decided on the move.
He said the government has worked with the respective stakeholders for the past 2.5 years on this scheme, which has been categorised into small, medium and large businesses.
Mauroof Zakir, general secretary of the Tourism Employees Association of the Maldives, a trade union, said the minimum wage for tourism workers has been set at 8,000 Maldivian rufiyaa – equivalent to US$519 – monthly.
“We had requested for US$600 but we are happy with this remarkable achievement,” he said, adding that the minimum wage for tourism workers will exclude service charge and overtime pay.
Zakir, who was also part of the negotiating team of stakeholders, said that although there will be a two-year moratorium on the implementation of the minimum wage for foreign employees, he hoped that resorts would also implement the scheme for their foreign staff from January.
Travel booking platform Klook has formed a joint venture with ZA Tech Global, the technology venture founded by ZA International, that will accelerate the availability and accessibility of travel-related insurance to consumers across the globe.
The agreement will synergise Klook’s global presence and hyper-localised go-to-market strategy, alongside ZA Tech’s experience in insurance innovation and technological know-how.
With this joint venture, insurers will be able to partner with Klook to feature their insurance products on the platform. The agreement will see Klook work closely with insurers to design products that address the pain points of consumers in this new normal.
Klook will partner with insurers AXA and Chubb to kickstart travel-related insurance products on its platform by the end of this year, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
ZA Tech will export its proprietary solution Fusion to Klook’s platform to create a seamless digital experience for travellers and the ecosystem partners; while Klook will leverage ZA Tech’s customer insights to various markets to strengthen product innovation, customer engagement and increase insurance penetration.
“The pandemic has changed the way we travel, with customers demanding increased assurance when they travel once cross-border travel resumes,” said C.S. Soong, vice president, corporate development at Klook.
“We are excited about this milestone partnership with ZA Tech, as this is the first time any travel player will be rolling out a full suite of travel-related insurance on a multi-market level. With this, we can further simplify customers’ travel journey, enabling them to discover, book and purchase all they need during their travels from travel-related insurance to experiences.”
Young Yang, general manager of ZA Tech Southeast Asia, added: “Travel is a journey to explore and we want to make customers’ every step count with insurance protection. To that end, we are inspired to embed insurance in customers’ travel experience with ZA Tech’s insurtech innovation and enable the broader community to get insured.”