It was an opportunity long dreamed of, and so leaving behind their household in Malaysia, he migrated back to the Maldives with his family – to see if it “can be done”. There is only one answer to that conjecture now: it “is done” – more than done. Now, Abdulla Nasheed is one of the merchants with the greatest investments in the Maldives’ guest house tourism field. It has been three years since he began to dabble in tourism, with the help of a loan from Bank of Ceylon. He deserves a 100 out of 100 for the work he has accomplished. With an investment of two million US dollars in his two “Kaani” beach houses, he is now enjoying the fruit of his labour. Abdulla is currently planning to establish a state-of-the-art hotel in Maafushi. He is all set to purchase the required land of 6,000 square feet and invest two million US dollars in that plot without a moment’s hesitation. The target is to “earn two million dollars annually” from this island alone. “It’s not impossible. Profit will double with the new “Kaani Grand Sea View”,” explained the 51 year old entrepreneur as he demonstrated the concept for his new hotel. Abdulla anticipates that this five storey hotel will bring new hopes and expectations to not only Maafushi, but all of Maldives. Kaani Beach Hotel, Kaani Village and Spa, and the modern restaurant Hot Bites are all under Abdulla’s name. These hotels are stunning and avant-garde, offering a number of services, including a special spa in Kaani Village. Each hotel also houses a restaurant, making both of them more or less small resorts in their own right. The hotels and restaurant are managed by Asna Investments that he founded with his wife. As the CEE of the Kaani Hotels, Abdulla heads these businesses, followed by his wife Aminath Asima Saleem. The mastermind behind all the architectural aspects of the lovely “Kaani” hotels in Maafushi was Asima. Abdulla’s venture into trade and business began a long time ago, from the small shop he opened in 1986 after graduating school. He had then pursued higher education abroad in order to study electronics. The “Asna Technologies” shop still in business in capital Malé is Abdulla’s personal side business, born of his love for electronics. He claims that as his preference in work. “When I was in Grade 10, I used to create my own transmitters and send FM signals to houses. Even then, I was searching how to expand this [electronics business],” said the father of two. His long wait was finally answered with the government opening the doors for private broadcasters. Abdulla immediately applied for the license. The resulting Capital Radio he founded was one of the first private radio stations in the Maldives. He managed it with seven employees, before eventually putting the station up for sale. His next venture was into the tourism sector with a state-of-the-art safari cruise boat, which again was later sold. Afterwards, he opened a guesthouse in his own house “Kaani” at Malé. This small guesthouse of twelve rooms was what truly opened his eyes to tourism. With Kaani Beach and Kaani Village in Maafushi and his guesthouse in Malé, Abdulla’s hotel business now includes management of total 114 rooms. “I still run that guesthouse. It’s mainly booked by transit passengers. Even now, it’s fully packed,” said Abdulla in his interview to Haveeru at his Kaani Village in Maafushi. “Leaving that place as it was, I left for Malaysia.” However, these experiences in tourism were relatively new for him. His business has now evolved into a family business. His wife, Asima, is in-charge of around 90 employees (83 in the hotels), while his two children have founded their own corporation to trade food supplies for their parents’ company. Abdulla declares that one of his greatest sources of happiness is being able to offer employment to his 83 staff with an enduring, long lasting trade. His other satisfaction is that “people accept this [line of work].” “That people accept this is one of my greatest satisfactions. The other is being able to offer employment to so many people.” Abdulla is now well versed with all aspects of guesthouse tourism. It is part of his labour nearly every day, with the majority of his time spent in Maafushi. However, his business has not reached its destination yet. He is already prepared to expand his horizons in tourism with more investments. What caught his eye most recently is the prospect of managing a middle-class resort, in addition to his guesthouses. “I’m currently searching for a good location,” said Abdulla. He believes that “this is a business conducted through experiences”. Abdulla is always eager for new experiences; has always been since the beginning. He never hesitates to take risks. Abdulla deserves a lot of credit for the progress of Maafushi tourism that can be witnessed today. He was one of the instigators that turned around a locally inhabited island to bear the fruit of tourism. In other words, he is the “king” of Maafushi tourism. He markets Maafushi as a tourist destination, and brings in foreign press, photographers and bloggers at his own expense. According to Abdulla, the island has bypassed its most complex stage now. It is now a tourist destination, with the promise of full booking even with a standard hotel. Maafushi is now a pioneer island in guesthouse tourism. Investors such as Abdulla need to step forward if such progress is to be seen in other islands. Investors who are active and tireless, wise and fearless.