Why is Maldives the new favourite destination?
Most travel authors or adults from the early 90s remember a time when Maldives was a beautiful, lucrative destination. Yet, back then it was not extremely developed. There were very few hotels and they were all moderately cheap. Soon, like any other destination, airfares dropped and Maldives become a preferred destination. Famous travel agency services and big hotel chains and like the Hilton Group, Hyatt, Shangri La and The St. Regis set foot and established themselves here.
Last year, right before Covid struck, Maldives had one of the highest room rates in the world! However, once COVID struck, all travel everywhere was shut down and so was Maldives. As time passed and cases were monitored, authorities soon realised that because of Maldives comprising of various small islands, the transmission rate will not be very high. As a result, Maldives was opened for travel.
All of this happened while travel everywhere else in the world was tight. However, to a still cautious and scared world in the wake of pandemic, this was a scary prospect.
With travel restrictions a bit relaxed all over the world, tourism companies and organisations in Maldives began advertising more and more about its safety precautions, free flights, entry on getting a covid negative result etc. It advertised all of this heavily in the West, although without equal return on investment.
This was worrisome. Travel remains Maldives’ highest employer and if things did not take off, the economy was genuinely in danger. So, Maldives began targeting other countries in the East. It concentrated towards developed nations and India was an area of prime focus. The old influencer strategy came in handy.
Three and five-star hotels in Maldives began inviting influencers from India so they gushed about the facilities and safety precautions. It worked! Since the travel restrictions had been eased, a significant number of Indians have been to Maldives enjoying the best of hotels at the lowest prices.
The destination is now giving severe competition to Goa as the most popular destination for travel. However, as experts from various tourism companies suggest, there is plenty to lose from the desperate efforts to salvage the economy back to life. There are two outcomes that almost everyone can see. First, the luxurious, exclusive appeal to Maldives is vanishing. The reason most luxury hotels had their base in Maldives was because over time it had become a luxury, beach vacation that many wanted a taste of. The stays usually comprised of beach dinners, private pools, infinity pools, sandback dinners, dolphin swims etc. With extremely low prices, the luxury appeal of Maldives
seems to be chipping away.
Secondly, with vaccines in the picture, the future of a pandemic seems hopeful. So, come the new autumn season, will all these top-notch five-star hotels in Maldives maintain their low prices? It seems highly unlikely.
Considering all the factors mentioned, an Indian should ideally approach a travel agency service. pack their bags while the prices still remain low and enjoy the Maldives for its true beauty. Whether prices rise or not, true travel lovers will definitely find a way to tick this tranquil location off their list.
