COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s tourism minister Harin Fernando’s comments criticizing Maldives tourism at the ITB Berlin 2023 tourism fair held in Germany last week have become the talk of the town in the Maldives as well as in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka’s tourism minister criticized the Maldives at a press conference held at the ITB Fair, highlighting the reasons why tourists should go to Sri Lanka.
“I know lots of people go to Maldives. Maldives ju
st have the beach, I’m not criticising. But you stay there for five days and you get fed up of it,” Fernando said.
Noting that unlike the Maldives, there are so many places to go and activities to do in Sri Lanka, Fernando said that tourists in Sri Lanka can experience a lot more.
Following public reactions to his Berlin statement, Fernando in an apologetic note said in his twitter: “ My statement made in Berlin regarding the beautiful Maldive islands has been taken out of context and been misrepresented on social media. I wish to clarify that we work together with our neighbor on tourism and would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
However, Fernando’s Maldivian counterparts shrugged off the comments and said the young Sri Lankan minister would not have meant what he said.
Minister of Tourism Dr. Abdullah Mausoom on Monday responded to his Sri Lankan counterpart Harin Fernando’s comment about the Maldives’ tourism.
Speaking to Mihaaru News, Dr. Mausoom said that there is not much credence to the claim as there are several tourists who visit the Maldives repeatedly.
He also stressed that he does not believe Fernando’s remarks were intended to launch a negative campaign against the Maldives.
“I met him at the ITB fair. I thought he was a young and energetic minister. I don’t believe he meant anything by it; it looks like an offhanded comment that was just caught on camera,” Dr. Mausoom said.
The Maldives’ tourism minister was confident that the comment would not affect the country’s tourism sector in any way. He said that the Maldives has won the World’s Leading Destination award for the past three consecutive years, indicating that the country’s tourism brand is popular all over the world.
Highlighting that tourists are not “fed up” with the Maldives, Dr. Mausoom said that many tourists are repeat visitors who have visited the Maldives up to 50 times.
“A lot of the tourists that come to Maldives are ‘repeat tourists.’ You will see me going to the airport personally from time to time to greet the tourists who come to the Maldives on their 40th or 50th visit. Most tourists visiting the country after Covid are repeat tourists.”
The tourism minister also noted that long stay tourism is gaining popularity in the Maldives, with some tourists staying in the country for more than 90 days.
Regional tourism is also a growing industry in the Maldives, according to Dr. Mausoom. He said that many tourists who visit Sri Lanka and India also come to the Maldives, and a lot of the tourists who make the Maldives their primary destination travel to these neighboring countries as well.
He said that most airlines that come to the Maldives also fly to other destinations in the region, such as Korean Airlines. Dr. Mausoom believes that developing the Maldives’ tourism sector would also be beneficial for the region.
