Guest transfers: A step beyond a lasting first impression
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]You are on a plane on its final approach to Velana International Airport, the main gateway to the Maldives, and what you see when you look outside is one of the most idyllic scenes one can witness and is often described as one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Offering unparalleled views, what you […]
Five trends that will drive Maldives’ hospitality industry
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When an ultra-luxurious destination rapidly evolves, will a destination marketing presence equate to a positive image, and an increase in tourism to the country? In the cover story for issue #30, Hotelier Maldives takes this question to the Maldives’ hospitality industry. With insight from industry experts at the Hotelier Maldives GM Forum 2018, we look […]
The Relevance of Service Excellence
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In the cover story for issue #27 of Hotelier Maldives, we discuss the relevance of superior service, and how it helps customers as well as organisations to grow, live and serve others. Further, Afeef Hussain (Regional Director of Training, Development and Quality Assurance at LUX* Resorts & Hotels) and Mohamed Athif (Director of Human Resources […]
CROSSROADS; an epoch of midscale tourism in the Maldives
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The development of the Emboodhoo Lagoon multi-island integrated resort project, known as “CROSSROADS”, is the most comprehensive and expansive tourism project undertaken in the Maldives, ushering in a new wave of investment opportunities. The project, a game-changer that will transform the face of the Greater Malé Region and expand Maldives’ appeal as a multifaceted tourism […]
The Sonu Shivdasani Story
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If I were a betting man, I would have never predicted that an Oxford Graduate in English Literature would make a mark in the Maldivian Hospitality industry as a pioneering figure, who would one day revolutionise the way tourism was defined in the Maldives. But that was exactly what British hotelier Sonu Shivdasani, along with […]
Velana International: Towards a world-class airport
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The development of Velana International Airport (VIA) by Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) might just be the most ambitious and most expensive project undertaken hitherto in the Maldives. The international airport built on the separate island, Hulhulé, just a 5-minute ride by mechanized vessels from the Capital Malé, has served as the gateway to the […]
Sustainable technologies: where science can help
Whether you regard science as a force for good or the means to our destruction, one thing is clear: the world as we know it depends on science for its workings. While the problems of modernity, such as carbon emissions, waste and pollution need to be addressed, the modern consumer, though eco-and-community-conscious, will not want […]
The building wave: observations on the number two industry and its umbilical link with tourism
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The construction industry is the country’s second largest industrial contributor to the GDP after tourism. Over the past decade, it has witnessed several booms and slumps. Hard hit by the effects of the financial crisis that ravaged the global economy in the late 2000s, the sector recovered in 2010, registering positive growth. The trend continued […]
Under the Southern Cross: Observations on Addu Atoll’s development and future
The southernmost atoll of the Maldives, Addu Atoll, is steeped in history and culture, home to remnants of the British colonial endeavour, a unique dialect and some of the country’s most esteemed scholars and businessmen. Now more commonly referred to as Addu City, it’s the country’s largest population centre after Malé. The inhabitants of Addu […]
Here today, gone tomorrow: the world of travel as a fast-paced, ruthless ecosystem
The world of travel is an ever-changing ecosystem whose components must be fit for survival or face extinction. Today’s traveller is different from her ancestor of twenty years ago; though motivations remain largely the same, her modus operandi and her expectations have changed significantly. This owes greatly to the shifting technological landscape; what was once […]
2016 Maldives Tourism Industry Review
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Despite the various challenges, the hospitality and tourism industry of the Maldives has been resilient, and the performance of the sector of the showed improvement in the year 2016 compared to the year 2015. With a total arrival of 1,286,135 inbound international tourists, the industry recorded an annual average tourist arrival growth rate of 4.2% […]
Homegrown Hotelier – Shabeer Ahmed, Chairman of Coco Collection
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Shabeer Ahmed is Chairman of Coco Collection, a company with three properties in the Maldives in its portfolio: Coco Bodu Hithi and Coco Privé in Male Atoll and Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu in Baa Atoll. Shabeer’s rise was marked by grit and determination in the face of adversity. But you will also discover that he […]
