Indians can still holiday in the Maldives! You can travel from India to the Maldives if you’re staying at a resort or a liveaboard. However, from today, 27th April 2021 onwards Indian tourists will no longer be allowed to stay at guesthouses or hotels located in inhabited islands.
The Maldives’ decision to ban travellers from India comes as the neighbouring country faces a surge in COVID-19 cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called India’s current crisis beyond heartbreaking.
India is the biggest tourist source market for the Maldives (in terms of tourist arrivals) as of 21st April 2021. Likewise, India was the top tourist source market in 2020 and the fastest-growing market in 2019 as well.
The Maldives’ Ministry of Tourism revealed that tourists arriving from India who has completed the prescribed dose(s) of a COVID-19 vaccine, must still hold a negative PCR test result for COVID-19 before entering the Maldives. Likewise, this PCR test should not be taken more than 96 hours before travellers depart to the Maldives.
In addition to that, these tourists should take a PCR test for COVID-19 within 72 hours before they depart from the Maldives.
After the news that the Maldives will ban tourists from India, netizens shared memes trolling the Bollywood celebrities who visited the Maldives in the past few weeks. Countless Bollywood stars have holidayed in the Maldives after the island archipelago reopened its borders last year.
Also read: Indian Celebrities that Visited Maldives After Lockdown
This April, some of the most influential Bollywood celebrities decided to visit the Maldives for the second time as well. Tiger Shroff, Disha Patani, Sara Ali Khan, Alia Bhatt, and Ranbir Kapoor just recently spend their getaway in the Maldives; for the second time since the island nation reopened its borders.
Indians can easily access the Maldives thanks to the close distance between the two nations and the seamless air connectivity. The Maldives and India also maintain close bilateral relations as the two countries have been friendly and close in strategic, economic and military cooperation.
Feature image(s) via Instagram
