This holiday hotspot offers vaccinations to visitors

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(CNN) – It was one of the first countries to fully reopen to travelers, and now the Maldives is striving to lead the way when it comes to vaccine tourism.

Indian Ocean destination officials have announced plans to offer tourists on-arrival vaccinations in an effort to attract more visitors.

Dr. Abdulla Mausoom, the country’s tourism minister, has confirmed that the Maldives is developing a “3R tourism” program that would allow tourists to “visit, vaccinate and vacation”.

According to Mausoom, the country plans to offer two doses of the vaccine to visitors, meaning those who sign up for it will have to stay in the Maldives for several weeks.

He hopes the program will boost tourism in the Indian Ocean archipelago, which attracted an average of 1.7 million visitors a year before the pandemic.

Vaxication program

Tourists relax on Hulhumale beach, one of two man-made islands built up to 3 meters above sea level next to the capital Male

The Maldives plans to offer travelers vaccinations to boost tourism.

Carl Court / Getty Images

However, international travelers eager to book a “vaxication” package to the Maldives will have to wait, at least for now.

The “3R” program will not continue until the entire population of the country, estimated at just under 550,000, is fully vaccinated.

“The main idea of ​​open tourism is to provide reasonably safe tourism with as little inconvenience as possible,” Mausoom recently told CNBC International.

“So once the country is vaccinated, we will switch to ‘3R’ tourism.”

He went on to confirm that about 53% of the population has received the first dose of the vaccine, including 90% of front-line tourism workers.
In February, Thoyyib Mohame, general manager of the Maldives Marketing & PR Corporation, told CNN Travel that the country had received 555,494 visitors in 2020, surpassing the adjusted arrival forecast of 500,000.

“Our greatest advantage is the unique geographic features of the Maldives,” he said, explaining that the fact that the guests can be spread out across the different islands was particularly attractive to travelers and also meant that social disengagement measures were a little easier. to maintain.

“We have promoted the destination as a safe haven for the tourists.”

Strong offer

Mausoom hopes the vaccine program will drive up visitor numbers even further, but will the jabs come from and will the Maldives be able to supply enough to meet the demand of international travelers?

According to the minister, the country has received vaccine donations from India and China, as well as the World Health Organization’s Covax program, and is currently awaiting an additional order from Singapore.

“I don’t think the supply to the Maldives is a problem because our population is relatively small,” he told CNBC. “The quotas we get from the various organizations and friendly countries will also help.”

However, he did not specify whether travelers would be charged for receiving the vaccine.

Currently, there are at least 500 resorts and guesthouses in the Maldives that are open to international visitors, but the capital Malé remains off limits.

The Maldives closed their borders in late March, but officials chose to fully reopen in July to all international travelers without restrictions.

Although visitors have had to submit a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival since September, the destination has continued to welcome travelers with relatively low cases in recent months.

Lilit Marcus and Julia Buckley also contributed to this report.

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