Tourism in the Maldives

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Tourism Zone
Contents

Introduction

Since ancient times foreign travelers have visited the Maldives. In earlier times the islands were encouraged for travelers from the East as well as the West. As a result trading contacts with Arab, Persian, Malayan, Indonesian and Chinese seafarers have left their imprint on the people and culture of the country. Well-known travelers who have visited the Maldives in earlier times include the Moroccan traveler Ibn Batuta, who was here in 1343, Francois Pyrard de Laval from France, and H.C.P. Bell from Britain. Nowadays the natural beauty, the never-ending view of Blue Ocean, the undisturbed seascapes and the serene natural environment make the Maldives a special place for the many visitors who come here. The sun, sea, and white coral sand are abundant in the Maldives; and the little tiny islets give a glorious sense of happiness and of being far away from the world and its troubles. Hence, the Maldives has become known to many as the place to learn "the art of doing nothing".

The first resort islands

The first resort was developed only in 1972, in an uninhabited island near the capital, Malé. The resort, known as Kurumba Village, only had accommodation for about 60 guests. The second resort was Bandos, with about 280 beds. The services in the two resorts were quite basic compared to that of others in the region. The food was mainly local and the transportation quite slow. It was also a time when air travel to the Maldives was only available on Air Ceylon which operated a small Avero aircraft. This plane carried only 48 passengers and took two hours to reach Malé from Colombo. Despite all these constraints, more than a thousand pioneer tourists came to the Maldives in 1972 to experience the natural beauty of the islands and the resorts with their local touch. These pioneers introduced the Maldives to the future world of holidaymakers.

In 2003 the Maldives consists of more than 80 resorts, and over 500,000 visitors from all over the world.

Overview of a tropical resort

A typical tourist resort in the Maldives is a hotel on its own island. It is the only establishment on the island and everyone on the island either works at the resort or is a guest.

Islands are typically 800 by 200 metres in size and are formed of sand and coral to a maximum height of about 2 metres above the sea. They are covered in coconut palms and bushes. In addition to its own private beach, which goes all the way round the island, each island has its own encircling "house reef" which serves as a coral garden and natural aquarium for SCUBA divers and snorkelers. The shallow waters enclosed by the house reef serves as a large natural swimming pool and protects swimmers from the ocean waves and strong tidal currents outside the house reef.

The only buildings on the typical resort are the rooms and suites reserved for use by its guests, the buildings housing restaurants, cafes, shops, lounges, bars, discos, diving schools and the like. A part of island also contains staff lodgings and housing for support services such as power generators, laundry, catering and sewerage plant.

The visitor may find it unusual that they see no local people or villages on the resort island. It may be possible to take excursions to other islands to see local living conditions and culture. Also, many of the resort staff are not from the Maldives.

Most resorts offer air conditioning, hot and cold fresh water around the clock. A toilet, mini bar and private telephone in the guests' rooms is more the norm than the exception. They also have restaurants, coffee shops and bars. On-island shops offer a wide range of products, especially souvenirs and artifacts.

A wide variety of activities ranging from aerobics to volleyball and table tennis are on offer for the conventional sports enthusiast. Aquatic activities starting from the more conventional wind surfing and water skiing to parasailing are also on offer.

In short, a tourist resort offers everything one needs when on a tropical island holiday!

See also: Atoll - History of the Maldives

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