Male: Maldives has urged Indian tourists to "be a part" of its tourism as the archipelago country's economy heavily depends on it, amid a sharp decline of Indian arrivals to the country due to strained relations. Maldives, which has adopted an increasingly pro-China foreign policy, is heavily reliant on tourism and most of the tourist arrivals are from India, followed closely by China and Russia.
In an interview with news agency PTI, Maldivian Tourism Minister Ibraham Faisal underscored the historical relations between India and the Maldives. "We have a history. Our newly elected government also wants to work together (with India). We always promote peace and a friendly environment. Our people and the government will give a warm welcome to Indian arrivals. As the Tourism Minister, I want to tell Indians to please be a part of Maldives’ tourism. Our economy depends on tourism," he said.
The India-Maldives ties have come under stress as President Mohamed Muizzu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, maintained after assuming charge as the president in November that he will keep his election promise of evicting Indian military personnel from his country. Soon after coming to power, Muizzu forced the withdrawal of the 88 Indian military personnel manning three aviation platforms gifted by India to the Maldives.
Why has there been a decline in Indian tourists?
A full-blown backlash was directed at the Maldives following derogatory remarks against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media by three Maldivian officials after the Indian PM posted photos and video of the pristine Lakshadweep Islands on India’s west coast on January 6 on his X handle. Mariyam Shiuna, Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts, while commenting on the photos of PM Modi, dubbed him as a ‘clown’ and a ‘puppet of Israel’.
Scores of Indians, including multiple celebrities, cancelled their reservations and dropped plans to visit Maldives. The tourism arrival statistics reflected how from being a top visitor country, India’s position went down from topmost to sixth position after January. As per a local media report, the number of tourist arrivals from India declined by 42 per cent in the first four months of this year compared to the first four months of last year.
At the start of this year, India was the top tourist market for the Maldives. Data from the Maldives Tourism Ministry shows that the highest number of tourists there come from India. Out of the 17, 57,939 tourists in 2023, India led the number of tourists with 2,09,198 arrivals, followed closely by Russia (2,09,146) and China (1,87,118).
However, now India has slipped to the sixth position among the top tourist markets. According to Tourism Ministry statistics, Maldives recorded a total of 43,991 tourist arrivals from India as of May 4. Between January and April of last year, Maldives recorded 73,785 tourist arrivals. This year, the number stands at 42,638.
After the row occurred, former Maldives Minister Ahmed Mahloof said on X that if Indians started to boycott the country, it would have a huge impact on the country's economy. "I'm deeply worried about the escalating situation regarding the sensitive comments about our closest neighbour. Indians boycotting the Maldives would have a huge impact on our economy. It would be hard for us to recover from such a campaign. I call on the government to swiftly take serious action to solve the issue ASAP," Mahloof wrote.
Muizzu's pro-China stance
In the presidential elections, Muizzu contested with the India-out campaign. After assuming charge he maintained that he will keep his election promise of evicting Indian military personnel. He has previously accused India of meddling in the affairs of the Maldives, despite it being India's key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
While India was forced to withdraw most of its military personnel manning three aviation platforms in the country, Muizzu travelled to China in January and met top Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping. On his return, he said, "We may be small, but this doesn't give them the licence to bully us." Although he did not name any country, his remark was seen as a swipe at India.
Despite this, India has agreed to supply essential commodities to Maldives after the island nation's request. The government will export certain quantities of essential commodities including eggs, potatoes, onions, rice, wheat, flour, sugar, dal, stone aggregate and river sand to Maldives during 2024-2025 under the bilateral trade agreement between the Government of India and the Government of Maldives.
(with inputs from PTI)
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