TMA to commence operations to Kadehdhoo

Trans Maldivian Airways have revealed that the airline will commence operations to Gdh Kadehdhoo effective from 1 of May 2008.

Director of Marketing Ahmed Latheef informs that operations to Kadehdhoo are due to increased passenger load to Ga and Gdh Atoll as well as to cater for the demands of the tourism industry.

“We will not introduce the second aircraft we purchased as yet as there are still some minor maintenance work , we will only introduce the aircraft once we are fully satisfied with it, of course we want to provide the best of comfort to all our clients” said TMA Director of Marketing Latheef.

TMA’s land based operations which commenced during May last year includes operations to Gan International Airport as yet. TMA is the only airline in Maldives which provides sea plane service and land based service. In addition to TMA seaplane service is being provided by Air Taxi Pvt Ltd.

Villingilli Tourist Resort won’t be completed by July: Tourism Ministry

Although the resort being developed by Shangri-La in Addu atoll is scheduled to open before July this year, work at Shangri-La’s Villingilli Resort & Spa won’t be completed in time, the Tourism Minister Dr. Mahmoodh Shaugy has said. He said that it would take at least an additional three months more for the resort to be finished completely despite the efforts by the company that had been assigned to the project.

“It is very possible that the work will not be finished by July,” he said. “We have been saying all this time that Villingilli will be completed and ready to open in July. We based that on the information given to us by the Addu Investment Company which Shangri-La had assigned to the project. Even during my visit to the site this month I saw that work was progressing at a very brisk pace. There are even now around 2000 people working on it.”

Villingilli’s main contractor Alyson Service’s CEO Mohamed Ali Janah said that 90 percent of the concrete work was now done and that the finishing work was now progressing.
“We are working non-stop day and night to complete it,” he said. “Sometimes we have a bit of trouble when bringing the materials. There have been times that the material shipments were delayed, but we are on target.”

The Public Relations and Home Affairs Manager of Shangri-La Hussain Naseem said that “we want to open Villingilli when it is completely ready – we don’t want to rush it.”

“We don’t want to open it just for the sake of doing so,” he said. “When it is opened it will be perfect. Villingilli will be among the best resorts in Maldives. Judging from the rate that the project is going we are sure that we will be able to open the resort near the end of the year.”
He also said that Shangri-La had earlier planned to complete the resort and open it in July 2008.
With 142 beds, Villingilli is the biggest resort to be developed in Maldives. The Maldivian Government has 30 percent share of the resort and the rest is owned by Addu Investment Private Limited. The resort also has also been designed with built in safeguards against natural disasters such as tsunamis.

Adaaran Ocean Villas wins Excellence Awards

Adaaran Resorts latest property, Ocean Villas has won the Excellence Award in the ‘Hotel & Tourism’ category at the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA) Design Awards 2008.

Every year Sri Lanka Institute of Architects Design Awards gives recognition to outstanding work to the latest architecture and provides a greater appreciation of excellent architectural designs. SLIA Design Awards classifies the awards into 4 key areas; which are buildings, projects, products/interiors and open. Each of these four areas is further expanded with awards given in various categories.

Mano Ponniah, Consultant Architect and Jean-Michel Fragnay, Consultant Interior Designer for the Ocean Villas project received the excellence award for ‘Hotel & Tourism’ under ‘Buildings’ category. Upon receiving the award, Ponniah commented that the simplicity of the structural design, quality of the interior and immaculate methods undertaken in the construction were pivotal to the winning of the award.

The first Adaaran Prestige property to be launched in the Maldives was Adaaran ‘Prestige’ Water Villas in 2005. Their second Prestige property Adaaran ‘Prestige’ Ocean Villas was inaugurated late last year and their next property, Adaaran ‘Prestige’ Vadoo is set to officially open in February 2009 is also anticipated to further add to the collection of Adaaran Prestige properties represented by excellent architectural designs and exquisite interior designing.

Inner Maldives nominated for WTA 2008

World Travel Awards 2008 has nominated Inner Maldives Holidays as “Indian Ocean’s Leading Travel Agency”. World Travel Awards (WTA) is the most comprehensive and the most prestigious awards ceremony in the global travel industry today which is also recognized as the Oscars of the travel industry.

Inner Maldives Holidays won the category for “Indian Ocean’s Leading Travel Agency” last year at the World Travel Awards in the Asia-Pacific, Australasia and Indian Ocean region ceremony at the Leela Palace Kempinski, Bangalore in India.

This the first time a Maldivian travel agency or tour operator has achieved such status.

Inner Maldives Holidays was established in October 1998 with the dedicated objective of providing tour operator services to the booming tourism industry of the Maldives. Inner Maldives Holidays represents over 500 of the world's leading tour operators, brands and caters as a one stop solution provider in Maldives for all travel and tourism needs.

Carlson Hotels signs Radisson Hotel in the Maldives

Carlson Hotels is to open its first Radisson hotel in the Maldives in early 2010. The 250-room hotel will be located on the island of Hulhumale, north of the capital Male.

Radisson Hotel Maldives Hulhumale, owned by public-listed local conglomerate State Trading Organisation PLC, will be designed as an urban resort primarily for the conference and meetings market, as well as for transient guests arriving and leaving the island. It will also be connected by land to the international airport and seaplane terminal.

"This new development aligns with our expansion strategy to grow in key business and leisure destinations in the region. It will be the second hotel under development in the Maldives that will be managed by our group. We are also opening a luxury Regent resort in the Maldives later this year," said Martin Rinck, President and Managing Director, Carlson Hotels Worldwide - Asia Pacific.

Radisson Hotel Maldives Hulhumale will have an all day dining restaurant with views of the ocean, a retail outlet and a private jetty. It will also have extensive ballroom and banqueting facilities, capitalizing on the growing Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) market.

"The events market is growing steadily due to strong economic performance in the region, with a special high demand for meetings and incentive facilities in resort locations. This will be the only international hotel in the vicinity of Male with specially designed conference services," added Rinck.

The hotel will also offer a business centre and health club including a gym and spa as well as a swimming pool and easy access to beach facilities.

STO signs agreement with Carlson Hotels

State Trading organization (STO) has signed an agreement with Carlson Hotels World Wide last Wednesday. Under the agreement the 5 star hotel that is to be constructed by STO would be managed by Carlson Hotels.

As part of the effort of STO to expand their range of business activities, STO is entering the lucrative tourism industry by constructing the 250 bed, 5 star hotel at Hulhumale’. The agreement on behalf of the Carlson Hotels was signed by the company’s President and Managing Director Rink. The agreement on behalf of STO was signed by CEO Ahmed Mohamed.

STO informs that Carlson Hotels World Wide is a famous American company engaged in hotel management. The company says the decision to sign the agreement with Carlson Hotels was reached after a lot of discussions with other as well.

The STO 5 star hotel constructed at Hulhumale’ is to be marketed under Radisson Hotels and Resorts of Carlson Hotels. Carlson Hotels manage hotels, resorts, cruise travels, restaurants under different brand names. Carlson Hotels operates 982 hotels in 82 countries says STO.

Welcome to Maldives

Tourist Safety Awareness Program commences

Maldives Police Services has revealed that a safety awareness program for tour guides has just begun yesterday night. This training program which is to be held for duration of one week is conducted jointly by the Police Academy and Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviations. Information will be provided by the experienced Police personnel and experts from other Government offices reports Maldives Police Services.

The purpose of this training program is to familiarize tour guides with the important factors of communicating effectively with tourists says police. Furthermore, it is also to attract tourists who leave the country to visit the Maldives for a second time.

According to Police the program is the first such training program held in the Maldives and has 26 participants.

In this program, information will be given about the protection for tourists according to the law and regulations. Furthermore, overall safety instructions for tourists and information about social, religious and traditional customs of Maldives will be provided.

Workshop on Fraudulent & Travel Document commenced

A workshop on Fraudulent and Travel Document has commenced. According to Department of Immigration and Emigration the workshop is held in collaboration with Australian and Canadian High Commissions in Sri Lanka and is aimed at those engaged in aviation sector.

Immigration Department informs that the objective of the workshop conducted from March 16 to 19 at the seminar room of Management and Computing Center is provide latest information on techniques used to determine and catch drug smugglers, human smugglers as well other offenders. Immigration Department informs discussions will be held on how to recognize fraud travel documents, visas and passports.

The workshop is aimed at Immigration officers, Island Aviation, Maldives Customs, Maldives Police services as well as airline ticketing agents in Male’.

Many Opportunities in Tourism - Maldives Envoy

Maldives, the island country in the Indian Ocean, has opened its first embassy in the Middle East in Saudi Arabia reports Arab News.

“We chose Saudi Arabia as the first destination to have our foreign mission in the region since the Kingdom, which hosts millions of pilgrims in the holy city of Makkah and Madinah, is accepted not only as a leader in the Muslim world but also as a strategic hub in the region,” said the Maldives Ambassador Hussain Shihab, who presented a copy of his credentials to Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal in late February says Arab News.

According to Arab News Ambassador Shihab said that Maldives is spreading its diplomatic wings gradually by opening new missions in Singapore, Tokyo, Beijing, Geneva and Saudi Arabia. Maldives already has diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia and the UK.

According to Arab News Ambassador Shihab said that his priority is to develop strong economic ties between the Kingdom and Maldives. He said that Maldives, which has some 200 inhabited islands, is a popular tourist destination for both European as well as Middle East travelers. The island, whose population is only 300,000, attracts more than 800,000 tourists a year, he said, adding that the tourist infrastructure could be improved with viable investments from the Kingdom.

According to Arab News Shihab said that the mission has plans to have an open day event at the mission for Saudi businessmen to enable them to familiarize with the business opportunities and incentives given by the state for foreign investors. The country has 100 resort islands and many more could be improved with foreign investments, he noted. Arab News reports that one of Ambassador Shihab’s main tasks would be to meet and assist the Haj and Umra pilgrims who come to the holy cities during the respective seasons.

Youths of Ha atoll are being introduced to tourism sector

With the introduction of tourism to Ha atoll, youths of the atoll are being introduced to trades of the industry.

Ali Shaukath Reservation Executive of Cinnamon Island Resort established at Alidhoo of Ha Atoll speaking to Miadhu Daily said that as part of the effort to get the youths of the atoll introduced to tourism sector, opportunity has been opened to join hotel school for youths interested in doing so.

He said the resort looking for youths to join an introductory program on tourism. In this regard a team from the resort has visited Dhihdhoo and Kelaa last Friday. He also said 20 youths from the island of Utheemu visited the resort yesterday. He said many young people from these islands were briefed on the carrier opportunities available in the tourism sector and also were given information on the hotel school.

Shaukath further said that course was mainly aimed at islands of Ha atoll but that youths from other atolls would also be welcome. He said priority will be given to youth of nearby islands as accommodation facility is not available in the resort. He said transport to and from the resort has been arranged.

Shaukath also said in choosing students, priority will be given to youths who failed O level examinations and that these students have a bright future with the resort.

Shaukath further said the course will have duration of 3 months and will be conducted by a Sri Lankan expert. He also said following completion of the course more than 75% of the students will be offered jobs in that resort or will be provided jobs in the company.

Cinnamon Island Resort is resort managed by John Keels Company. According to reports there are 3 resorts operational in Ha Atoll.

Emerald launches first vacation ownership property in the Maldives

UAE-based vacation ownership specialist Emerald Vacation Group is to launch the first ever vacation ownership property in the Maldives.

The exclusive Turtle Cove Resort and Spa, located on a private island, will offer UAE investors the opportunity to own a unique vacation property in one of the world's top holiday destinations.

Due for completion in 2009, the island has been named after its most famous marine residents, the turtles which can be found in abundance along the Maldivian coastline.

The property, located on the Mahadhdhoo Island on the northern Huvadhu Atoll, features 77 one-bedroom villas, 30 of which are located on the water of the lagoon, with a further 10 two-bedroom villas.

Each villa is of five-star quality and includes individual a private pool, breathtaking island views and a personal concierge service. Turtle Cove also features a luxury spa, fine dining restaurants, boutique shopping promenade and water sports centre.

Emerald Vacation Group general manager Chris Jackson said: "The launch of Turtle Cove Resort and Spa marks Emerald Vacation Group's first foray into the international property arena. We have therefore chosen a unique and exclusive island in a highly sought after part of the world as our entry into an industry that looks set to soar in the coming years.

"As the first vacation ownership property in the Maldives, we anticipate that Turtle Cove will attract a great deal of interest".

STO to finance construction of 5 star hotel

State Trading organization (STO) has revealed that the construction of the 5 star hotel to be constructed by the company in Hulhumale’ will be funded directly by the company.

Chief Executive Office of STO Ahmed Mohamed speaking to Miadhu Daily said that the construction of the 5 star hotel will be funded directly by STO. He further said the hospitality industry is a specialized trade and as such the management of the hotel will be assigned to a suitably experienced party. In this regard CEO said the company was looking in to the possibilities of giving the management to an international party with experience in tourism management.

CEO revealed that at this point in time it was difficult to reveal the identity of the party the company was negotiating with. However an agreement would be signed by the end of the month. CEO revealed that under the agreement the party would manage the hotel according to business plan agreeable to STO. CEO also said even though the hotel will be managed by a foreign party STO will closely monitor the development of the hotel.

Hulhumale’ Development Corporation (HDC) earlier revealed that STO won the bid to construct the 5 star hotel at Hulhumale’ by competing against 8 other parties. Vista Company and Travel Services was closest competitor in the bidding process said HDC.

Maldives emerges as the leading long haul destination 2007

The leading specialist tour operator Kuoni Travels long haul report for the year 2008 revealed that the Maldives has emerged as the number one as the favorite long haul destination for the 2007.

Maldives topped as the first place in a list of 20 countries. They included Dubai, Thailand, Malaysia and Barbados. Managing Director, Kuoni Travels says “it is great to see Maldives continuing to hold its well deserved position as the favorite long haul destination. With the magical, eternal appeal of the true Robinson Crusoe experience the Maldivian resort offer, from 5 star luxuries and pampering to simpler, barefoot beach holidays, it would be some challenge to dent its lead”.

Already popular for tourists from all over the world, Maldives attracts visitors who are in search of peace and tranquility in an island paradise setting. With luxury and award wining hotels, resorts and spas and probably the best snorkeling, fishing and scuba diving in the world, Maldives offers a unique unforgettable experience to the visitor.

Maldives attracted a record number of 675,889 visitors during 2007. UK ranked top in 2007 among source markets with a total arrival of 125,158 visitors, which is a growth of 15.9 % compared to 2006.

Maldives hotel drops rates for agents

Agents are being invited to try out a new hotel in the Maldives at heavily discounted prices.

Kandooma opens in June with the promise of bringing island holidays to a whole new level.

Named after the Kandoo tree which is found in abundance on the island, the hotel features architecture inspired by sea barnacles and there are many dive sites in its immediate vicinity.

Kandooma offers an internationally accredited dive centre, numerous watersports, a kids’ club and a host of recreational activities and pursuits.

Accommodation for guests is housed in villas with white-washed timber and floor-to-ceiling glass windows that look out to aquamarine vistas.

Dining at Kandooma is advertised as a fusion of the flavours of the Mediterranean and Asia, with moonlit beachside dinners, take-outs, cook-your-own-BBQs and castaway picnics on offer.

Maldives take part in Berlin Fair

Maldives Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB) has revealed that more than ten thousand people have visited Maldives stand at Berlin Fair as last Thursday.

According to MTPB the fair held from last Thursday till tomorrow is participated by 180 countries across the world.

According to MTPB 60 industry stake holders of Tourism Industry take part in the Maldives stand this year. The fair held under the name World Latest Travel and Trade Show is biggest tourism event held in the world. The fair is held with the objective of bringing those involved in the industry under one place. The fair is also held so that travelers can easily choose their travel destination.

As in previous years the event held by Maldives stand known as Maldives Night was held on Wednesday night.

Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa, Maldives Races Towards Fourth Quarter 2008 Opening

Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa, Maldives is on schedule to open for the traditional high season in the Maldives. The 142 all-villa property will debut the fourth quarter 2008 as the first luxury resort on the Addu Atoll in southern Maldives.
The resort on Villingili island is abuzz with more than 1,766 construction workers from 19 countries working tirelessly towards the completion of the project. A group of 27 local employees is currently undergoing basic service training and induction to the “Shangri-La Hospitality from Caring People” signature style.

One of the villa concepts that will be unique to the Maldives is the tree house villa. Each of these, measuring 218 square metres and perched on stilts with a private infinity pool, will offer a special three-metre-high perspective of the island through tropical foliage. The other four distinctive villa designs include water villas with terraces and outdoor showers extending over the clear ocean water, beach villas with separate bedroom and living room, twin beach villas comprising two pavilions and an infinity pool, pool villas and two presidential villas. All villas will be equipped with two iPods and a docking station, a DVD player, an espresso machine and a full range of luxury amenities.

Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa will have two restaurants and five bars offering innovative dining experiences. All outlets will have stunning views of the ocean or lagoon, with some perched above the breaking waves. Khazaanage Restaurant’s concept of three distinctive living rooms, each representing different cultures and cuisines, will be the first of its kind in the Maldives. The three living rooms will be themed to the Indian Ocean, South China Sea and the Arabian Gulf regions respectively.

The resort will feature CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La, a secluded sanctuary offering therapies based on Chinese and Himalayan well-being rituals and traditions. CHI will be located in its own spa village in the resort, with spacious individual treatment villas offering “spa within a spa” environments.

“The Village” will be an extensive 30,000-square-metre leisure and water activity focal point. Housed within “The Village” will be the Shangri-La Environmental Centre where guests will learn about the conservation works around Villingili — marine and coral preservation, eco-friendly and energy saving measures adopted by the resort — and enjoy talks about the colourful marine life at the resort’s house reef and the best diving spots around the atoll.

Addu Atoll has more than 25 good diving sites teeming with marine life such as eagle rays, hawksbill turtles, black tip reef sharks, spinner dolphins, coral and colourful reef fish. Manta rays can be seen all year round. One of the best dive sites in the Maldives, the dramatic 140-metre shipwreck “British Loyalty” is located within a half-hour boat ride from Villingili Island. The shipwreck, with its hull resting at 33-metres, is covered in black coral.

The natural dense vegetation of Villingili island sets it apart from many other Maldives resorts. The three-kilometre-long island features 12 hectares of lush vegetation, 17,000 coconut trees, towering banyan trees, 45 species of plants, three natural lagoons and nature trails for guests to explore.

Villingili is surrounded by inhabited islands. Guests will take one of the regular speedboat runs to Gan and explore by bicycle the five neighbouring islands connected by a 17-kilometre road which is the longest in the Maldives. They will be able to set out with a picnic and discover the fascinating lifestyle and culture of untouched Maldivian villages or stop at a coffee shop to chat with the locals over a meal.

The Maldives’ second international airport, Gan International Airport, is an eight-minute boat ride away from the resort and Male International Airport is 70 minutes by air.

Training Resorts to be established in North and South of Maldives

Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has revealed that 2 training resorts are to be established in north and south of Maldives in order to provide training to Maldivians wishing to take up a carrier in a tourism related fields.

The training resort to be established in north of Maldives will be set up Hdh Nolhivaraum says Tourism Ministry. Tourism Ministry also said Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) will be assigned to establish the training resort sometime in March this year.

The training resort to be set up in the south will be established at Laamu Gasgadufinolhu and Laamu Bodufinolhu. The construction of the resort will be awarded to the highest bidder informs Tourism Ministry and that bids proposals will be invited some time next month.

Ministry says when the training resorts are established it will have a bed capacity of 150 to 200 and will have all the modern conveniences plus administrative offices, lecture rooms, classrooms and accommodation blocks for students and staff.

Additions points will be awarded to proposals which contain agreements from schools of international reputation to conduct training in these resorts say the Ministry.

Ministry also says during the first year diploma courses acceptable to Maldives Accreditation Board will be held and that during the third year degree courses will be held. Ministry also revealed that these resorts will take up training of foreign students as well.

Second ATR 42 of TMA to arrive today

Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) has revealed that the company second ATR 42 aircraft to be utilized in domestic operations is scheduled to arrive at Male’ International Airport some time this afternoon.

According to TMA the aircraft which was purchased in August last year, was expected to arrive late last December.

According to Mohamed Yanish Adam the company will start operations to Kadehdhoo the second domestic destination of the airline.

The aircraft is coming from Australia and was maintained at Australia as well. TMA says the first aircraft brought from Australia cost approximately US$ 4 Million.

TMA has revealed that the company will soon add a third ATR to their fleet. TMA says that the company decided to operate ATR’s after careful consideration to the aircrafts reliability, operational cost and ease of maintenance. TMA also says that ATR’s purchased by the company has a capacity of 50 seats but has been changed to 46 in order accommodate more luggage.

Opportunities for small travel operators decreasing - MATI

Maldives Association of Tourism Industries (MATI) has revealed that opportunities for small travel operators are getting narrower by the day.

MATI said this may be due to the unavailability of additional middle range resorts and beds for the small operators to market as well as due to the stagnant operation of charter flights during the last 2 to 3 years.

According to MATI charter market takes up 80% of the Maldives Tourism and that of late no additional middle range resorts were opened up. MATI says that the association does not believe that situation for the small operators have improved as the news the tourists season commence.

MATI says the reason for the high occupancy maintained in the resorts is because the capacity of resorts has not increased to meet the increasing popularity of Maldives as a favorite destination.

MATI also says that due to the slow rate of development of the islands that have been leased out for development of new resorts with a total capacity of 7076 beds the tourism industry and Maldivian economy is loosing a considerable amount of foreign currency every year. MATI believes that the role of tourism in the country’s economy can only be increased by establishing resorts that acceptable to tour operators.

MATI indicates that majority of the revenue earned from tourism is taken up by government in various forms mostly as taxes. In this regard MATI informs that 65% of the revenue from Tourism is directly given back to government as tax.

Construction of Uligamu City Hotel to commence soon

Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has said that construction of the proposed City Hotel in Ha Uligamu will commence some time next month.

Manager Investment and Public Relations of MTDC Arif Abdul Samad speaking to Miadhu Daily said that construction of the proposed city hotel in Uligamu will commence sometime next month and that currently all necessary equipments are being positioned in Uligamu. According to Arif most of these equipments and machineries are being brought from Herathera of Addu Atoll.

Arif also revealed that work is also underway to set up accommodation and other facilities for those engaged in the construction of the City Hotel.

The proposed city hotel in Uligamu is a 100 bed hotel and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Ha Atoll Chief Mohamed Rasheed speaking to Miadhu Daily said clearing of land where the hotel is to be constructed was carried yesterday. He noted the Hotel when opened would job opportunities for many of the young men.