Tourism Minister Dr. Abdullah Mausoom says guesthouses in the Male’ Area are set to reopen in early November as the tourism industry looks to end the year strongly.

In a tweet, the Tourism Minister said that all the hotels, guesthouses, and tourist facilities in the Male’ Area of Male’, Hulhumale’ and Villimale would resume their operations in the first few weeks of November.

Detailing the conditions for their reopening, Dr. Mausoom said the number of COVID-19 cases reported daily must drop to below 5 percent for two consecutive weeks before guesthouses are allowed to resume operations.

The government had earlier announced that guesthouses in other parts of the country can reopen next month provided that they fulfill certain conditions set by the authorities.

The Maldives re-opened its borders in mid-July and had welcomed more than 22,000 people since and most of them are tourists.

Earlier this week, World Travel and Tourism Council WTTC has granted the Maldives its Safe Travel Stamp having recognized the country’s efforts in implementing enhanced health and safety measures in line with the WTTC global Safe Travels protocols.

The latest updates by the Health Protection Agency HPA show that 20 resorts in the country are currently hosting active cases of COVID-19 and that this includes 20 tourists and 47 staff.