Tourism Minister Dr. Abdulla Mausoom confirmed that the Maldives is developing a “3V” (Visit, Vaccinate and Vacation) tourism program, which would allow tourists to “Visit, Vaccinate and Vacation.” This would provide visitors with two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. But this would mean that those who sign up for the shot would have to stay in the island nation for several weeks. Mr. Mausoom hopes the program will help boost tourism in the Indian Ocean archipelago, which welcomed 1.7 million visitors before the pandemic.
However, visitors who want to get vaccinated will have to wait, as the 3V plan will not be implemented until the entire population, estimated at just under 550,000, is fully vaccinated. Currently, about 53% of the island nation’s population has received the first dose, 90% of which are frontline tourism workers.
"The main point of open tourism is to provide tourists with a safe, affordable form of tourism with minimal inconvenience. So once the whole country is fully vaccinated, we will move to 3V tourism," the head of Maldives tourism said.
