Tourism Minister Ali Waheed says the foundation of sustainable tourism lies in recovering lost jobs and restoring faltered businesses.
He made the comments in the 5th Global Tourism Crisis Committee virtual meeting organized by the World Tourism Organization WTO.
Minister Ali Waheed chairs WTO’s South Asia Regional Commission.
In the meeting, the Minister shared his views on overcoming the losses felt by the tourism industry amid the Covid-19 global pandemic.
He talked about the financial support needed to restore the industry as well as recovering industry jobs that were lost in the crisis.
The Minister said that in a second wave of the infection, the country would need financial assistance to protect business and jobs during the crisis. He highlighted that to prepare for the second wave of the infection, the country must pay more attention to innovative and inventive ideas.
Minister Ali Waheed appreciated the work of WTO and other nations to re-open borders and restore international travel after overcoming the Covid-19 crisis. He urged that all the countries must agree on a guideline that would ensure safety before opening borders for tourism.
He highlighted that the Maldives was working to re-open its borders with safety measures in place under a special guideline. He also stated that this guideline would be reviewed every 14 days as per the discussions with industry stakeholders and relevant agencies.
