President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has this morning launched the official logo and website of ‘Visit Maldives Year 2016’ tourism campaign initiated by the Ministry of Tourism. The President launched the logo and website at the inauguration of the 27th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and Pacific (CAP) and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia (CSA) & UNWTO Regional Ministerial Conference on Positioning Tourism in a Wider Socio-economic Context.
In his inaugural address at the conference, the President expressed his confidence for a successful year in tourism for the Maldives through the global campaign, and highlighted the many national and international activities scheduled to be held through the next year, to mark ‘Visit Maldives Year’.
The President reiterated the Government’s plans to transform the Maldives’ economic policies, and redefine the catalytic role of tourism in uplifting the livelihood of the Maldivian youth. He underscored the tourism sector’s contribution to the creation of jobs, which is unparalleled with any other sector in the Maldivian economy.
Continuing on, the President stated that the Government has been executing policies towards the creation of almost 95,000 jobs for the youth, changing the tourism investment landscape, and promoting youth entrepreneurship. He noted that tourism has become an important policy tool dedicated to the change, development and reconstruction of the social and physical environment of the Maldives. In this regard, the President highlighted the Government’s announcement to facilitate sovereign guarantees for bank loans undertaken by the private sector that are under 4% interest cost, as a further boost to the tourism development of the country.
In his speech, President Yameen stated that tourism has taught Maldivians the art of living together in a globalised and fast-evolving world, proving that tourism can coexist with age-old customs, values and traditions of a country. He also pointed out that a number of ancillary businesses throughout the economy gain from tourism, including the retail sector, entertainment arena and transportation industry.
The President further noted that today the Maldives ranked amongst the very best when it came to the development of tourism that promotes and conserves wildlife and pristine ecosystems, as well as precious natural resources.
At the inauguration of the 27th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO CAP and the UNWTO CSA & UNWTO Regional Ministerial Conference held today, the Secretary General of UNWTO, Dr. Taleb Rifai presented the open letter from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) to President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, as part of their efforts in promoting travel and tourism in the global arena.
