MALE: Maldives is facing a boycott from Indian tourists, one of its biggest sources of tourism income, after three of its officials made derogatory remarks against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India after his recent visit to Lakshadweep.
But this will certainly see an increase in tourist flow to the Indian islands like Lakshadweep and the Andamans, according to the Indian tourists visiting the Maldives.
While speaking with ANI, the tourists who were in Male showed optimism and confidence in the Indian islands, attracting more visitors than earlier.
After PM Modi’s promotion of Lakshadweep, there have been massive social media campaigns to boost its tourism and to shun the Maldives with hashtags like ‘boycott Maldives’ trending.
‘What the Prime Minister is doing for India is that he is promoting Indian tourism, so that is a positive thing for India. People should go and explore India. It’s not that Lakshadweep was not there before; people, of course, knew about it. But after the Prime Minister’s visit there, going and promoting is very positive’, said Kunal Somaiya, a visitor from Mumbai in Male who had a pre-booking before the spat began.
Refraining from commenting on the political debate, Kunal was, however, sure that the current rift going on between India and Maldives could see a dip in footfall in Maldives.
‘What I see in Maldives is that they are, in many ways, dependent on India when it comes to tourism. I don’t have the exact numbers, but a good percentage of the foreign tourists here would be Indians. Because of this (ongoing spat) we are seeing some impact. What I am hearing is that flights are getting cancelled’, added Kunal.
For a tourist in Maldives, coming from Dehradun, the ongoing rift was surprising. DK Agarwal was, like many other Indians, dismayed by the remarks made by the Maldivian officials against the Indian PM and believed that this could, of course, result in a change in the minds of tourists who had earlier chosen the Maldives.
‘When there has been nothing said or mentioned against your country (Maldives), why should they (Maldivian officials) react in such a way and make such derogatory remarks against our Honourable Prime Minister and India? They shouldn’t have done this’, said DK Agarwal.
‘Maldives will see that (dip in footfall) in a year or so that what is the affect of doing all this. Because once the Indian tourists change their way to Lakshadweep or any other island, all will follow the same’, he added.
PM Modi’s recent visit to the Indian island has sparked global interest in the destination which is seeing a spike in Google searches about Lakshadweep. PM Modi, during his visit, shared pictures of himself taking a morning walk, relaxing in an armchair and snorkelling, which has since piqued the interest of Indian tourists.
For Rajan Sharma, things were a little different. He was a little apprehensive about travelling to Maldives for his friend’s anniversary. But because the trip was planned much before the rift began, he had to turn up for the event from Mumbai.
‘I had to attend my friend’s anniversary in an island here (Maldives). After all these incidents, my wife asked me to cancel my plan. When I had a telephone conversation with my friend here, he said ‘You can come’. So, I had to’, said Rajan, who was due to take his flight back home from the Velana International Airport on Thursday.
‘I hope that things will be sorted out soon. But I must say, that here it is very expensive. Our Indian islands are very economical and they can provide you with the same services in a very low price as compared to what I saw here. So, I would urge all the Indians to explore our Indian islands’, added Rajan.
A diplomatic row was triggered between India and Maldives after three Maldivian leaders, Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid, posted derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and mocked him over his recent trip to Lakshadweep.
The matter was strongly raised by India with Male and the top opposition leaders of the island nation slamming the ruling establishment over the row.- By Ayushi Agarwal (ANI)