President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Qayyoom has stated tourism had deep connections with all the industries in the country.
President Yameen stated that while some were calling for the boycott of the industry, the reality is that the entire backbone of the nation was dependent on tourism. He added that this was the case and will be the case in the near future.
President Yameen stated that almost all jobs for youth were either directly or indirectly related to tourism.
“Whether you look at safaris, live aboards, tourist shops, souvenir shops, the development in the islands and other projects and businesses, we see that the entire nation is dependent on it. It is because that this industry is a robust one, that there are continuous jobs available. The Government had pledged to improve the sector. We have announced for more projects for the sector,” President Yameen said.
President Yameen stated that the Government was working on ways to ensure that the sector was opened for small and mid-level businesses. He further stated that he did not believe that tourism can be run as a publicly floated companies.
“Even if we publicly floated the companies and offer an incentive of 50 or 99 years as a lease period, based on the current situation, investors would not be willing to invest,” he said.