Maldives is reopening its borders for South Asian countries from today as was announced by the country's president last month.
The Maldives’ economy is heavily dependent on tourism and it has been waiting for the situation to ease so it can restart business. Even during the early stages of the second wave, Male’ was almost the last destination to close its borders to tourism earlier this year in May given that it has taken a huge economic hit due to the pandemic.
The island nation of Maldives will now allow tourists from India to visit for non-essential travel from today. The archipelago is reopening its borders for South Asian countries from today. The island nation is one of the most favourite tourist destinations among the Indians and opening up of the border comes as a piece of reliving news for those who want to travel to the Maldives.
According to the Maldives Ministry of Tourism, people arriving in the island nation will no longer be required to undergo the mandatory quarantine on arrival. However, tourists will need to produce a negative RT-PCR report which should not be more than 96 hours old before their arrival in the country. People who have completed both the doses of covid-19 vaccines will also no longer require to undergo the mandatory travel quarantine within the Maldives. The second dose of the vaccine should be taken two weeks before travelling to Maldives. According to a report, the tourists visiting Maldives will require to download the contact tracing app TraceEkee, and wear a face mask while in public and also submit a Health Declaration on the Maldives immigration portal 24 hours before arrival.
Indian tourists should have a valid passport, with at least 1-month validity from the date of expected departure. The tourist should also have a valid return ticket with them and no change of address will be allowed.
India's budget carrier Go First has announced that it will resume the flight service between Male and four Indian cities from today. Initially, it will be two flights per week which will later be increased from next month.
Published on: 15th Jul 2021