Airports Company said 16 scheduled flights, including flights of British Airways, Monaca, Condo, Air Berlin, Meridiana and Sri Lankan Airlines have been canceled from last Saturday to Tuesday.

“Four flights have been canceled today as of now,” an official of Airports Company said.

Tourism Ministry, Maldives Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB), along with other parties involved in tourism industry held a meeting yesterday, to negotiate about the issues being faced by the stranded tourists.

“We agreed to initiate a hot-line and a communication channel. We will be providing the details to the resorts tomorrow and will be collecting the information about the stranded tourists,” Tourism Minister Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad said, speaking to Haveeru yesterday.

“We will be able to collect all the information about the canceled flights and charter flights, when we establish this hot-line with Airports Company.”

He further noted the tourists and tour operators would not get the refund.

Officials of the airlines noted they could provide the opportunity for stranded tourists to visit other destinations, and added that resorts, tourist hotels and safaris should provide special rates to the tourists who are unable to leave the country, Minister Sawad added.

Tourism Ministry said around 1000 tourists from each tour operator are unable to leave the country.

MTPB stressed that the number of tourist arrivals would be much lower, compared to the projected number.

“We estimated a 25 percent increase this month [compared to last April]. So we are now estimating an 18 percent increase, as around 5000 seats would be canceled,” Deputy Director of the board, Mohamed Niyaz said.

While 57,186 tourists visited Maldives in April 2009, Tourism Ministry projected 71,482 tourists to visit Maldives this April.

Around 30 European countries shut down their airspace six days ago, due to the ash cloud spread across the region due to Iceland’s volcanic eruption that occurred last Thursday.

While France allowed a gradual resumption of flights, European Union said some airlines would be allowed to resume its flights Tuesday and the operation of all airlines would be restored within this week.

Source: Haveeru News Service www.haveeru.com.mv

Maldives won the “Best Diving Area” after competing with the world famous dive favourites Palau and Ishigaakee Island. The competitors for the “Best Dreaming Area” include Palau and French Polynesia.

The awards were collected by the Maldives High Commissioner to Japan, Hon. Mr. Amir Khaleel.

Apart from the above “Island Safari Royal” and “Soleil” from the Maldives won 2nd and 3rd place respectively in the “Best Liveaboard” category.

Marine Dive Fair remains as the largest fair held in Japan targeted to the divers creating an opportunity to decide and arrange their dive holidays.

Hon. Mr. Amir Khaleel was the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the Marine Diving Fair. In his speech noted was the issue of the global warming and its impact to the Maldives and expressed his supported for the Japanese campaign to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25% by the year 2020. He also thanked the Marine Arts Centre for their hard work in creating awareness amongst the public about the protection of the underwater.

A quiz is carried in the Maldives stand daily making it popular by having more visitors attending to participate in the quiz. This year it is expected that a total of 50,000 would visit the fair. Together with Maldives Tourism Promotion Board, Villa hotels, Sun hotels, Bandos Island Resort & Spa, Diva Maldives, Conrad Maldives and Travel Agencies; Vista Company & Travel Services, Crown Tours, Intour Maldives and Intourist Maldives participated in the fair

Source: www.visitmaldives.com

Hold your horses guys, the duo is flying to Maldives for an ad campaign. From sometime now Hrithik has been looking for good promotional strategy for his upcoming films and seemingly it has occurred to him in the form of an ad-campaign. But what we hear now is that Hrithik has used his good offices and got Barbara into the ad.

The ad is likely to air around the same time when Kites will hit the theatres on May 21. It will definitely give a leg-up to the publicity and promotion of their film. Apart from that Hrithik would also get some more moments together with Barbara.

During his visit, the Vice President will participate at a UN General Assembly meeting on renewable energy. The Vice President will also hold meetings with the American officials and private organisations to discuss issues including climate change and effective drug control strategies.

Country Brand Index is a comprehensive study of approximately 2,700 international business and leisure travellers from nine countries. It is conducted by FutureBrand, a global brand consultancy company and Weber Shandwick which is a public relations firm.

The main marketing slogan for the destination Maldives is “Maldives…the Sunny Side of Life”. The wellness and relaxation aspect is promoted under the theme of “Maldives…the Spiritual Side of Life”. Maldives was ranked number one in these two areas. Maldives emerged as the number one in both Beach and Rest and Relaxation categories after successfully competing with countries like Tahiti, Bahamas and Australia.

Maldives also won the ‘World’s Most Romantic Destination‘ award at the WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS last year.

Source: visitmaldives.com

Read more about here Ishmeet Singh died in Maldives

The envoy said that his country is spreading its diplomatic wings gradually by opening new missions in Singapore, Tokyo, Beijing, Geneva and Saudi Arabia. The Maldives already has diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia and the UK. Shihab said that his priority is to develop strong economic ties between the Kingdom and Maldives. He said that Maldives, which has some 200 inhabited islands, is a popular tourist destination for both European as well as Middle East travelers. The island, whose population is only 600,000, attracts more than 800,000 tourists a year, he said, adding that the tourist infrastructure could be improved with viable investments from the Kingdom.

He said that the mission has plans to have an open day event at the mission for Saudi businessmen to enable them to familiarize with the business opportunities and incentives given by the state for foreign investors. The country has 100 resort islands and many more could be improved with foreign investments, he noted. He also said that one of his tasks would be to meet and assist the Haj and Umrah pilgrims who come to the holy cities during the respective seasons.

Source: Arab News – www.arabnews.co

The Maldives Tourism Promotion Board together with the Maldives tourism industry participated in The Brides Show held in Abu Dhabi from 5-8th February. Exhibiting for the first time at a consumer exhibition in the Gulf region, the Maldives Tourism Promotion Board showcased a range of beautiful island resorts which will appeal to both GCC nationals and expatriate residents living in the region.

Already popular with honeymooners from all over the World, the Maldives attracts visitors who are in search of peace and tranquillity in an island paradise setting. With luxury resorts and hotels, award-winning Spa’s and probably the best snorkelling, fishing and scuba diving in the world, the Maldives offers a unique, unforgettable experience to the visitors.

The Maldives is a relatively new leisure destination for the Gulf Region and it is now placing greater emphasis on driving destination awareness. Maldives is easily accessible from the Arabian Gulf with a short flight time of around four hours, with daily flights from Emirates, Qatar Airways and Sri Lankan Airlines, as well as twice-weekly flights from low cost airline Jazeera Airways.

The Maldives is currently the ultimate getaway for those who are attracted by resort style islands with plenty of privacy, stunning beaches and crystal clear waters. The Maldives provides the perfect backdrop for a relaxing, rejuvenating holiday, which is a welcome contrast to the frantic pace of life in the Arabian Gulf.

Coupling the ingenious talents of Maldivian architect Mohammed Shafeeq and Thai-based interior designer Julian Coombs, Naladhu has captured the elegant aesthetics of a slightly colonial era, with hints of Sri Lankan regality in its design. However, the resort also proffers every modern convenience imaginable to the luxury traveller.

Naladhu means “pretty little island”, and each of the exclusive 19 ocean houses — each named after a Maldivian plant — has been designed to make every guest’s wish become reality.

Each elite dwelling is a colossal 225 square meters in size and punctuated by a lofty white-gabled roof, expansive glass panelled doors and generous living, dining and bedroom spaces. With a commitment to perfecting every detail, Naladhu fuses modern facilities with a sense of the nostalgia. White- washed timber wall panels juxtapose the zesty Indian motifs and colours of the house upholstery. Antique furnishings, such as an early 20th century writer’s desk and the decorous bar cabinet conjure up images of a romantic, bygone age.

Yet while the historic elements are intrinsic to Naladhu’s atmosphere, each detail of the Naladhu house has been conceived to serve every guest’s whim. A personal plunge pool, landscaped garden and vast teak sundeck make for an exotic experience within the privacy of the enclosure. As highlighted within the resort’s features, the objective of Naladhu is to provide and pamper guests with unsurpassed quality and service. The personalized, “House Master” professional butler service ensures that every desire is met.

Each Naladhu house contains an espresso machine, a fridge stocked with delicacies such as foie gras and vintage cheese and a wine cellar pre-stocked according to personal preferences.

Guests have the choice of dining under an open canopy of stars in their house Sala, or in the comfort of the Living Room restaurant. Otherwise, Naladhu has many unique dining options aimed at indulging romanticists. Meals can be served aboard a local dhoni (Maldivian boat) or perhaps on the Wave Breaker dining platform hovering over the ocean.

For reservations please telephone +960 664-4100 or email: info@naladhu.com.

Ms. Marion Walsh Brand Public Relations Director Email: mwalsh@naladhu.com Mobile: + 66 (0) 89 811 3829 http://www.naladhu.com/

A good source of Haveeru has informed that Madonna and her husband Richie came to Maldives on Thursday around 12:30 pm, on a private jet. They are staying in Baa Atoll Soneva Fushi Resort & Six Senses Spa, however, they will be spending more time in Maldives and they have set to visit many other trips to other resorts according to Haveeru news source. An official from the Male’ International Airport has said that they came as VIPs.

“There were four people other than Madonna and her husband. Everything about emigration was done in side the boat and as soon as they got off the boat they left with out staying for long in the airport” said the official.

It seems Madge and Guy (and Rocco, Lourdes, and new baby David) are headed to a private island in the Maldives in a “last-ditch bid to save their marriage.” The two supposedly are “hanging on by a thread,” even fighting over where to escape for a two week break to to save their relationship.
We’re sorry to hear this because in celeb-time, they’ve been together for an eternity…but why go to a tropical island to make-up and bring your kids?!

source: Blogger News Network