Impacts of Tourism in the Maldives

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Impacts of Tourism in the Maldives

Opportunities

Video:

Brief overview of the Country & Tourism

Located to the south-west of India and the archipelago is made up of  >1000 coral islands. 

It is a UNESCO biosphere. (Find out about that here: http://www.unesco.org/mab/doc/faq/brs.pdf )

The Maldives were little known before 1972. They used to be reliant on fishing, but now they are reliant upon tourism.

Tourism in the Maldives : Facts & Figures

• There are 89 resorts that provide bed capacity for more than 17,000.
• Tourism makes up >31% of GDP and indirectly >70%.
• The Maldives supports 31,000 jobs which equals about 22% of direct total employment, and indirectly it employs ~50%.
• In 2011, 800,000 visited the Maldives. 
• Tourism is the country's highest earner of foreign currency. 

Economic opportunities created by tourism

The Maldives achieved middle income status in 2011. Incomes have risen from $400 in 1950 to around $5000 today.

Local airlines have expanded. Trans-Maldivian Airways (TMA) transports 2,000 each day by bus and sea. TMA is experiencing 8% growth per year and from 2005-11 transported 290,000 passengers.

Using the funds they have improved connecting transport and ferries/boats. Airstrips have been built on some larger islands. 

A modern new luxury terminal has been built to give a great resort experience even before guests reach their hotel.

Social opportunities of tourism in the Maldives

They achieved 5 out of 8 of their Millennium development goals. They have focused on public sector reform, social benefits and adaption to climate change. 

Literacy rates have grown from 82% in 1977 to 96% by 2006.

Healthcare - There is only one hospital on the capital island. Telekiosks and telemetricians have been set-up to help people over the phone. 

Investment has created job opportunities - now 313,900 have state education and healthcare benefits.

For the smaller islands, they want to encourage eLearning, and to do this they are working on installing a submarine fibre optic internet cable. 

Environmental impacts of tourism in the Maldives

- Reinvestment of profits into environmental help.

- Tourists can pay for steel coral structures and have their name on it. (1,100 of these have been set down thus far.)

- Maldives wants to be carbon-neutral by 2020.

- UNESCO marine biospheres.

- Tourism policies in harmony with nature and sustainable development.

- SMPs - Soft Engineering.

- Investing in Coral Reef Development.

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