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.
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[edit] History
Tourism began in the Maldives relatively late. A United Nations mission on development which visited the Maldive Islands in the 1960s didn't recommend tourism, claiming that the islands were not suitable. But Ever since the launch of the first resort in Maldives in 1972, tourism in Maldives has flourished. The arrival of the first tourist group is estimated to be in February 1972. The group landed at Male', the capital island of Maldives and after spending 12 days of ultimate bliss returned to their homes with unforgettable memories. Tourism in Maldives started with just two resorts with a capacity of about 280 beds in Kurumba Village and Bandos. At present there are over 80 resorts located in the different atolls constituting the Republic of Maldives. Over the past few decades, the number of tourists in Maldives has risen continuously and today each year more than 600,000 thousand tourists visist Maldives.
[edit] Natural beauty
Maldives is famous for its natural beauty which includes the blue ocean and white beaches, accompanied by pleasant temperatures. 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, coffee shops, shops, lounges, bars, discos and diving schools. A portion of the island also contains staff lodgings and support services such as catering, power generators, laundry, and a sewage plant. On-island shops offer a wide range of products, such as souvenirs and artifacts. Most 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 electricity 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
[edit] External links
- Official website of Maldives Tourism Promotion Board
- Maldives Holiday Guide
- The Pearls of Indian Ocean
- Wikitravel page on Maldives
- Discover Maldives
- free Maldives Information, especially for travelers!
- Maldives Travel Guide
- Maldives Tourism History
- Information about Maldives, Maldives hotels, Maldives resorts, Maldives Cruise, etc.
- Maldives Tourism
- General information about Maldives
- UK tourist guide to The Maldives
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