President Seeks To Slash Holiday Prices Up To 30%

Maldives consists of some 1,200 widely dispersed islands that are spread over 820 kilometers from North to South. Boasting resources that many tourists find impossible to resist; coral reefs, warm climate and the uncluttered sandy beaches, The Maldives has in the past been swamped with tourists. This was problematic due to the sheer fact that most of the land mass is four to five feet above sea level and no more. The threat of climate change and rising sea levels could potentially plunge The Maldives under sea level by the end of the century.

President Mohamed Nasheed has seen a decline in tourists visiting the islands recently; for example, British tourists to The Maldives were down 25% in the early years of 2009. Due to this fact, tour operators have no other choice but to dramatically slash the prices of the high end beach breaks. For a resort that is so reliant on tourism, Nasheed’s actions have been deemed controversial, as he has given the go-ahead to dozens of mid-range hotels and guest houses to be constructed. When compared with similar placed resorts including Goa, President Nasheed really believes that an increase in tourist numbers will only be achieved if they become price competitive with Goa and other similarly ranked places. However this naturally can potentially damage tourism in Goa; it has been predicted that if the change in price of holidays in The Maldives reduces by 20% then the change in quantity demanding to go to Goa for holidays will reduce by 22%. However if the price of holidays to The Maldives drop by 30% then the demand for Goa will reduce by a staggering 40%.

What the world needs is what former US Vice-President Al Gore has urged the US Government to pass new regulations on; to reduce carbon emissions. He cited that the sinking Maldives as an example is what could happen if America and other leading countries fail to respond to what many deem the most important challenge of the 21^st century.