Report suggests Maldives government to levy tax on tourists to fund environment conservation

In a report produced by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with the College of Fisheries in Mangalore, India, Florida International University in Miami and the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) it is proposed that tourists, who travel Maldives, should pay an environmental tax to finance the country’s conservation programs.

The report, titled ‘User-based Financing of Environmental Conservation of the Maldivian Atolls’, says that lack of political will and budgetary resources are major obstacles for the implementation of the marine protection law.

The report also places a monetary value on the use of natural resources for tourism and proposes government to levy use-tax.

Specific threats to Maldives’ marine ecosystem comes from various development activities include near-shore reclamation, harbor construction, dredging and other island expansion activities, nutrient enrichment from sewage discharges from resorts and nearby islands causing algae growth on the reef.

Over-exploitation of reef fisheries also affects the corals indirectly for it decreases the number of herbivorous fishes that play a crucial role in the growth of coral reefs.

The report found a huge gap between the amount of economic value generated from nature based tourism and the amount used conserve atoll environment. Even small amount of tax levied on “tourist expenditure” on the islands or a “user fee” would enable the government to collect money for the atoll conservation.

China to Promote its Travelers to Visit Maldives

In order to strengthen the bilateral trade between China and Maldives, Chinese president Hu Jintao is now going to help Maldives tourism sector by promoting Maldives as a tourist destination among the Chinese travelers. An official estimate shows that 54 million people from China would visit several countries this year. A number of countries in Asia and Europe are trying to attract a large number of these tourists to their countries.

Maldives is an island country on the Indian Ocean and tourism is their main earning sector. The country has some excellent places that attract tourists from different parts of the world throughout the year.

Chinese president also said that he would create more opportunities for the Maldives student to come and study in China. Presidents of the two countries recent met each other and they vowed to increase the cooperation between the two counties.

Related article:

ptinews

British Airways Will Cover Maldives Soon

A few days ago, there were some reports in the media that British Airlines (BA) was facing some financial losses. Well, at the time of global economic crisis, it is natural. Now, the company has announced that from October it will operate 3 flights a week to Maldives. It is the first time that BA is going to cover Maldives.

Times Online reported:

The airline says it will fly to both Male in the Maldives and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt from 25 October on a thrice-weekly basis. It will be the first time that BA has operated services to the Maldives. BA previously served Sharm el Sheikh through its franchise operator GB Airways, which was acquired by easyJet in 2007.

The services will use Boeing 777 aircraft configured with three classes: World Traveller, World Traveller Plus and Club World.

It looks a good business decision to me because Maldives is a popular destination among rich people in England. In the past one year, some high profile celebrity couples came here for honeymoon. So, some people from UK will be able to escape the cold weather home and come to the sunny islands.