Edited by Deepali Verma
The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry or MATI has strongly stood against the derogatory comments made by some deputy ministers on social media platforms against Bharat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, days after he visited Lakshadweep.
The MATI remarked that Bharat has always been a “first responder” to crises throughout Maldivian history.
“The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry stands in condemnation of the derogatory comments made by some Deputy Ministers on social media platforms, directed towards the Prime Minister of Bharat, His Excellency Narendra Modi along with its people. Bharat happens to be our closest neighbour and ally. has always been a primary responder to various crises throughout our history and we are beyond thankful to the close relationship that the Government as well as people of Bharat have maintained with us,” stated MATI on January 8.
It further said that Bharat has been a consistent and significant contributor to the tourism industry of the Maldives. “A contributor that has dedicated great assistance to our recovery efforts during COVID-19, right after we re-opened our borders. Since then, Bharat has continued to remain as the top markets for the Maldives,” the tourism industry said.
“We sincerely wish that the close relationship between the two nations continues for generations to come and as such, we refrain from actions or speech that may lead to any negative impact on our good relationship,” it added.
The statement comes at a time when EaseMyTrip, one of Bharat’s biggest online travel platforms, suspended flight bookings to the Maldives, amid a diplomatic row.
“Our company is completely homegrown and made in Bharat,” Prashant Pitti, co-founder of EaseMyTrip, wrote on X, “We have come to a decision to not accept any bookings for Maldives.”
MakeMyTrip, another travel booking platform, said it had witnessed a 3,400 per cent rise in on-platform searches for Lakshadweep since the prime minister’s visit and is aiming to launch a new “Beaches of India” campaign for local travellers.
With Bharatiya being the largest group of visitors to the Maldives, the spat has the potential to threaten a key sector of the economy in the strategically important archipelago of over five lakh people that sits west of Sri Lanka. The fallout is placed at a time when there are growing tensions between Bharat and the Maldives since a new President Mohamed Muizzu came to power in September last year.
Meanwhile, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on January 8 has urged the domestic traders and exporters to refrain from conducting business dealings with the Maldives.
CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal pointed out that the derogatory comments targeting Modi have been deemed unacceptable by the business community, and this call for boycott aims to convey solidarity and register disapproval against such explicit disrespectful behaviour.
The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) additionally on January 8 urged all the tourism and trade associations in the country to quit promoting Maldives amid a row over anti-Bharat remarks made by some Maldivian ministers. The trade body chairman, Subhash Goyal, put out a statement for all the tourism associations as a “patriotic Indian in the larger national interest”.
Goyal made an appeal to all the Indian carriers operating in Maldives to curb their operations and think of operating in Lakshadweep islands under the Udaan Scheme.
“I appeal to members of FHRAI and the Hotel Association of India to diligently look at investing in Lakshadweep islands as in the future it will provide us better returns on the investment than Maldives. I have already asked STIC Travels to stop selling Maldives,” the statement read.
Maldives ministers suspended
Deputy ministers of the youth ministry Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid have been handed suspension over their posts against Bharat. The Maldivian foreign ministry earlier said the government was aware of the “derogatory remarks” on social media platforms against foreign leaders and that the personal views do not represent its position.
