Maldives president Muizzu’s appeal to China amid Indian tourist backlash | India News
NEW DELHI: Maldivian president Mohamed Muizzu on Tuesday urged China to send more tourists to the island nation amid a massive boycott campaign in India over derogatary remarks made by his ministers against PM Modi.
The three ministers were promptly suspended by the Maldivian government, but their remarks triggered backlash across India, which was the top tourist market for the archipelago in 2023.
Muizzu, who is seen as pro-Beijing, is currently on a five-day visit to China amid the backlash in India.
On the second day of his visit, Muizzu termed China as the island nation’s “closest” ally in his address to the Maldives Business Forum in Fujian Province on Tuesday.
“China remains one of our closest allies and development partners,” he said.
He praised the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2014, saying that they “delivered the most significant infrastructure projects witnessed in Maldivian history”, according to his speech.
He also urged China to bolster the flow of its tourists to the Maldives.
“China was our (Maldives’) number one market pre-Covid, and it is my request that we intensify efforts for China to regain this position,” according to a readout posted on his official website.
The Maldivian media reported that the two countries have signed a $50 million project to develop an integrated tourism zone in the Indian Ocean island.
According to official figures, China was third largest tourist traffic source for Maldives after India and Russia.
The highest number of visitors to the Maldives were from India, with 209,198 arrivals, followed by Russia in second place with 209,146 arrivals, and China in third place with 187,118 arrivals.
In 2022, India remained the top Maldives tourism market, with 240,000 arrivals. Russia followed closely in second place with 198,000 tourists, and Britain ranked third with over 177,000 arrivals.
Before Covid, China held the top spot with over 2.80 lakh tourists but is currently struggling to revive its domestic and foreign tourism due to a nearly four-year lockdown policy and the continued slowdown of its economy.
As a result, Chinese tourists who travelled abroad for holidays in millions before Covid are now restricting themselves given the economic slowdown.
The remarks made by the now suspended ministers have triggered a diplomatic row between the countries. Indian travel portals and tourists have called for a boycott of Maldives and are promoting Indian destinations instead.
(With inputs from PTI)
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The three ministers were promptly suspended by the Maldivian government, but their remarks triggered backlash across India, which was the top tourist market for the archipelago in 2023.
Muizzu, who is seen as pro-Beijing, is currently on a five-day visit to China amid the backlash in India.
On the second day of his visit, Muizzu termed China as the island nation’s “closest” ally in his address to the Maldives Business Forum in Fujian Province on Tuesday.
“China remains one of our closest allies and development partners,” he said.
He praised the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2014, saying that they “delivered the most significant infrastructure projects witnessed in Maldivian history”, according to his speech.
He also urged China to bolster the flow of its tourists to the Maldives.
“China was our (Maldives’) number one market pre-Covid, and it is my request that we intensify efforts for China to regain this position,” according to a readout posted on his official website.
The Maldivian media reported that the two countries have signed a $50 million project to develop an integrated tourism zone in the Indian Ocean island.
According to official figures, China was third largest tourist traffic source for Maldives after India and Russia.
The highest number of visitors to the Maldives were from India, with 209,198 arrivals, followed by Russia in second place with 209,146 arrivals, and China in third place with 187,118 arrivals.
In 2022, India remained the top Maldives tourism market, with 240,000 arrivals. Russia followed closely in second place with 198,000 tourists, and Britain ranked third with over 177,000 arrivals.
Before Covid, China held the top spot with over 2.80 lakh tourists but is currently struggling to revive its domestic and foreign tourism due to a nearly four-year lockdown policy and the continued slowdown of its economy.
As a result, Chinese tourists who travelled abroad for holidays in millions before Covid are now restricting themselves given the economic slowdown.
The remarks made by the now suspended ministers have triggered a diplomatic row between the countries. Indian travel portals and tourists have called for a boycott of Maldives and are promoting Indian destinations instead.
(With inputs from PTI)
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