Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, plans to increase direct flight connectivity to India in a bid to attract more tourists to the island. Currently, there are 21 direct flights a week operating between Maldives and India. Talks are on with an airline company for starting a direct flight between Mumbai and Male, capital city of the Maldives, by September this year. Approval of the Government of India is awaited for the commencement of the service.
Currently, Male is connected with Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram with direct flights. “There is a huge demand for more flights between the two nations. Maldives has been attracting tourists from India, China and Europe in big numbers over the last few years. Last year, it attracted 6, 75,000 tourists from around the world, of which India accounted for 14,000 tourists,” said Mahmood Shaugee, Minister for Tourism and Aviation, Maldives. The island nation is expecting a growth of around five per cent in tourist arrivals this year. Shaugee said that though Maldives had not felt any slowdown in tourist arrivals, the rising fuel prices and inflation may have a marginal impact on the number of people visiting the country. |