How the Maldives grew to become the most important 2020 worldwide tourism success story

(CNN) – In most travel destinations, having a million tourists in the previous year would be a big cause for concern, the result of a terrible natural disaster. But that was before 2020 and before the coronavirus pandemic forever changed the way we travel.

The Maldives, an island archipelago in the Indian Ocean practically synonymous with romance, typically receives 1.7 million visitors a year north. In 2020 it had around 500,000. And despite the sharp drop, this is one of the most successful tourism stories amid the pandemic.

While many other destinations have closed their limits, the Maldives opted to fully reopen to travelers from any country regardless of the status of the virus in July 2020. Part of the decision was financial. According to Michigan State University, tourism contributes to this 28% of the Maldives GDP, one of the highest sums in the world.

The country’s geography also lends itself well to coronavirus logs. Many hotels and resorts are on their own private islands – there are more than a thousand to choose from, even before artificial islands come into play – which makes isolating and social distancing extraordinarily easy.

Countries in Asia and the Pacific have been more cautious in reopening than countries in Europe and North America, which means that tourists in the region have had few options to visit places.

As other popular island excursions in Asia Pacific such as Tahiti, Bali and Phuket The Maldives took advantage of the fact that they were in relatively good shape with the virus. The venues that have since reopened have done so with significant restrictions. For example, Thailand and Sri Lanka require a mandatory two-week hotel quarantine before they can travel to another country.

Understandably, there were some hiccups. The Maldives reopened unconditionally in July, only to run back in September, with all travelers having to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival.

The Maldives’ heavy reliance on luxury resorts also had a positive impact on testing and social distancing. For example, some high-end properties are running additional in-resort Covid tests additional protective layer against the spread of the virus.

The One & Only Reethi Rah (pictured) had its doors open for most of 2020.

Courtesy One & Only

Thoyyib Mohamed is the executive director of Maldives Marketing & PR Corporation, the country’s national tourism agency.

He says the country received a total of 555,494 visitors in 2020, beating the adjusted arrival forecast of 500,000 arrivals by the end of 2020.

“Our biggest asset is the Maldives’ unique geographic features,” he says, adding that the implementation of strict sanitary protocols combined with the ease of moving people around different islands makes a compelling combination for travelers looking to get away from it all.

“We advertised the destination as a safe haven for tourists.”

The infrastructure also played a role. Many resorts have private boat or plane transfers built into their packages so that visitors who have arrived in the country can reach their final destinations without encountering many – if any – other tourists.

Jan Tibaldi, General Manager of One & Only Reethi Rah, told CNN Travel that while they didn’t have significantly more visitors in 2020 than in 2019, the time these visitors spent there increased massively.

“Our guests travel less, but they travel longer and more purposefully,” she said.

In direct response to the increasing amount of time visitors spent in the Maldives and the fact that most people only work digitally for work and school, the resort created a special package for guests staying for a full month. The 28-day offer includes meals, high-speed internet, spa activities and use of a kids’ club, and costs from $ 42,600 for a family of four.

Still, there isn’t a completely positive travel story when it comes to navigating the new world under Covid.

Many Maldives who work in the hospitality industry have effectively found themselves “stranded in paradise” and had to stay in the resorts where they worked to cater to just a handful of guests.

Two employees at the Kuredu Island Resort & Spa tested positive for the virus in March 2020. As a precaution, the entire resort was closed. While the quarantine on a postcard-perfect tropical beach wasn’t the worst scenario for the guests, it wasn’t as dreamy for the staff tasked with keeping the place going indefinitely.

However, the numbers alone show that despite reopening, the Maldives largely managed to keep the pandemic in check.

As of February 2021, the country had 17,828 confirmed cases and only 58 deaths.