The Maldives has emerged as one of the tourism industry’s biggest success stories amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, with the island nation seeing visitor arrivals rebound close to last year’s figures over the same period.
According to official data, some 339,962 tourists have visited the Maldives to date this year up till April 12, compared to the 382,762 arrivals from January 2020 through March 27, 2020, when borders were closed owing to the pandemic. The country reopened its borders to tourists on July 1, 2020 after a near four-month pandemic shutdown.
The ministry said that tourist arrivals have been increasing each month, with 92,103 tourist arrivals in January, 96,882 arrivals in February, and 109,585 arrivals in March. A total of 41,392 tourists visited the country during the first 12 days of April.
The uptick in arrivals puts the Maldives on track to reaching its target of 1.5 million arrivals for this year. The country recorded a total of 555,399 arrivals in 2020, lower than the 1.7 million in 2019, but much higher than the targeted 500,000 for the year.
There is no quarantine requirement for arriving tourists, who are only required to show a valid negative PCR test result upon arrival. Visitors are whisked away from the international airport by seaplane or luxury speedboat to their island resort many kilometres away from the capital city.
Amid the pandemic, India has emerged as the Maldives’ top source market, accounting for 23 per cent of the total tourist arrivals, followed by Russia, Ukraine and Germany. China, traditionally the country’s largest tourist source, has shown fewer arrivals due to restrictions placed on outbound travel.
Meanwhile, according to official sources, 57 per cent of the Maldives population of over 530,000 people have received the first Covid-19 jab. As of April 12, the country recorded 25,701 Covid-19 infections and 66 deaths.
China’s specialist ground operator Bespoke Travel Company is recalibrating its live online strategy for international clients, who are only likely to return in 2022 when the Covid-19 pandemic is no longer considered a serious threat and borders reopen.
CEO Sarah Keenlyside said that while its online products were a “lifeline during the pandemic, some lost interest when lockdown restrictions were eased last summer and people were no longer confined at home”.
Keenlyside added: “We were pleased with the good response but we were stunned by the online fatigue. Now, we are ready to test the waters again. With people more used to online experiences, reviving our online push will keep interest going until international travellers can buy in-person tours.”
The Bespoke founder noted that the profit margin for its online products was better because of the higher volume and lower costs. “Revenue-wise, we had to keep the pricing reasonable and it was encouraging for our team to see money coming in, instead of having to make refunds to international clients,” she shared.
Apart from its key US market, Bespoke’s online products were popular in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Africa and Brazil.
Keenlyside said the in-depth talks would attract around 75 people and 50 for the activities, and took place very early or very late in China to cater to the overseas markets.
The online experiences included tai chi classes; a WeChat live-stream hutong tour in Beijing; a virtual cocktail-making event; subject matter expert talks; and a course on how to make and eat hand-pulled noodles, which were recorded and sent to participants.
Even though Bespoke decided to wind down its online product promotions following the online fatigue, there were requests from overseas educational institutes and corporates for customised programmes.
Bespoke is now looking at launching online products that combine a dining experience in a unique space in China with a subject matter specialist as guest speaker, and overseas clients can listen to the talk.