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Diplomatic dispute continues between Maldives and Indian government. Meanwhile, Maldives will organize road shows in several Indian cities to attract Indian tourists. However, information about when and where this will happen has not been given. The number of Indian tourists in Maldives is continuously decreasing.
Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) met Indian High Commissioner Munu Mahavar on Thursday night to discuss enhancing travel and tourism cooperation between the two countries.
Why did Indians turn their back on Maldives?
Actually, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone to Lakshadweep in the first week of the new year. On January 6, PM Modi posted photos and videos of the pristine Lakshadweep islands off the west coast of India on his X handle. After this, three ministers of Maldives made derogatory remarks against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This angered Indians and started a campaign to boycott Maldives on social media.
Millions of Indians, including many Bollywood and sports celebrities, protested against the Maldives. Many travelers have canceled bookings for Maldives. Before this, most tourists used to go to Maldives. But after January, the number of Indian tourists has fallen from the first to fifth place and now to sixth place.
Till April 10, only 37 Indian tourists had reached Maldives.
According to the data of Maldives Tourism Ministry, a total of 6,63,269 tourists visited Maldives till April 10 this year. China brought the highest number of tourists to Maldives at 71,995, followed by the United Kingdom (66,999), Russia (66,803), Italy (61,379), Germany (52,256) and India (37,417).
MATATO said they want to work closely with the Indian High Commission in Maldives to promote tourism initiatives. In this regard, plans are underway to launch road shows in major cities of India and meet influential people and media acquaintances in the Maldives in the coming months.
Protests due to the policies of President Muizzu
Maldives President Mohammed Moizzu is inclined towards China. Whereas the previous governments had good relations with India. Moijju came to power due to India's opposition. Within hours of taking oath in November last year, he had asked India to withdraw 88 of its military personnel from the country. He also said that the presence of soldiers is a threat to the sovereignty of his country.
Muizzu asked all 88 soldiers to return to India by May 10. The soldiers were present there under an agreement between the two countries. A contingent of Indian soldiers has returned to India.