Tourism in the Maldives

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Tourism is the largest economic industry in the Maldives, as it plays an important role in earning foreign exchange revenues and generating employment in the tertiary sector of the country. The archipelago of the Maldives is the main source of attraction to many tourists visiting the country worldwide.

Contents 1 History 2 Reasons for Tourism 3 Overview of a tropical resort 4 Ecotourism in Maldives 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] History

In the ancient times, Maldives had established relations with Arab, Persian, Malayan, Indonesian and Chinese seafarers causing the islands to be frequently visited by them.

The location of Maldives along the ancient marine trade routes from the West to the East caused the explorers to stop by to hunt for fish or to acquire supplies such as money cowrie used for exchange then. This resulted in the recognition of the islands among the international community. The visits made by these traders also left imprints on the culture of Maldives to this day.

Well-known travelers who have visited the Maldives in the ancient times include the Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta (in 1343) who acknowledged the Maldives as 'one of the wonders of the world', François Pyrard de Laval of France, H.C.P. Bell of Britain and Marco Polo of Italy.

[edit] Reasons for Tourism

Maldives is famous for its natural beauty which includes the blue ocean and white beaches, accompanied by the tropical climate. The climate of the Maldives is ideal for visitors to get engaged in water sports such as swimming, fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, water-skiing and windsurfing. Due to its extraordinary underwater scenery and clean water, Maldives is also ranked among one of the best diving destinations of the world. [1]

[edit] Overview of a tropical resort

A tourist resort in the Maldives consists of an exclusive hotel on its own island, with its population entirely based on tourists and work force, with no local people or houses.

These islands developed for tourism are approximately 800 by 200 metres in size and are composed of sand and coral to a maximum height of about 2 metres above the sea. In addition to its beach encircling the island, each island has its own "house reef" which serves as a coral garden and natural aquarium for scuba divers and snorkelers. The shallow water enclosed by the house reef also serves as a large natural swimming pool and protects swimmers from the ocean waves and strong tidal currents outside the house reef.

The buildings on a typical resort includes rooms and suites reserved for use by its guests, restaurants, cafes, shops, lounges, bars, discos and dive schools. A portion of the island also contains staff lodgings and support services such as catering, power generators, laundry, and a sewerage plant. On-island shops offer a wide range of products, such as souvenirs and artifacts. The resorts offer a wide variety of activities such as aerobics, volleyball and table tennis.

[edit] Ecotourism in Maldives

The promotion of ecotourism is practiced in the Maldives as it is a beach resort country with fragile natural habitats. Resorts such as Soneva Gili emphasizes on the promotion of ecotourism such as recycling of heat that is wasted in producing elctricity in the resort and it also has policies of waste disposal.

Furthermore, the government aims to conserve the natural beauty of the islands before they are being altered into resorts by enforcing laws such as prohibition of catching turtles and reduction in the damages caused to the coral reefs.

[edit] See also

• Economy of the Maldives

[edit] External links

• Official website of Maldives Tourism Promotion Board
• Discover Maldives
• Maldives Destination Guide
• A Comprehensive Travel Guide of the Maldives
• Islands Maldives Exclusive Hotel Guide
• MSN Beaches Maldives Offers