Vice President Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Ghafoor has announced the introduction of the National 3R Award, conferred to tourist resorts in appreciation and encouragement of measures taken to incorporate resource efficiency into tourism operations. The Vice President made this announcement while speaking at the opening ceremony of the 6th Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific.
Highlighting this year’s theme “Our Environment - Our Economy, Our Future”, the Vice President stated the relevance it had to the tourism sector of the Maldives. He noted that the Maldivian economy has rapidly transformed itself to be largely dependent on the tourism sector, since its introduction. The Vice President also underlined that the Government recognizes the vitality of the natural environment, to the sustainability of the tourism industry.
In his speech, the Vice President stated that the rapid development of the tourism sector in Maldives was largely driven by the private sector. He said that the Maldives’ transformation into a brand name synonymous with luxurious sun, sand and sea holidays, owed to the hard work of our pioneers.
Continuing on, the Vice President noted that the Maldives’ successful tourism industry today was created from the beauty of our islands handed over to us intact, by our forefathers. “We must ensure that in turn, we hand them over to coming generations in a state that does not compromise their future. The future that we want for our children tomorrow is ours to create today.”
