As the boycott Maldives call gains steam, a new study revealed that the country may face a significant drop in the number of Indian tourists, affecting the country’s tourism revenue, which accounts for one-third of the country’s economy.
Indian travelers called to boycott the island after three junior Maldivian ministers made derogatory remarks against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While speaking to CNBC Travel, Ankit Chaturvedi, vice president and global head of marketing Rategain, said, “We are seeing a 40% drop in bookings over the last two days. Most people book on weekends, and therefore the drop seems more significant because ideally [bookings] should have gone up.”
Rategain is an India-based travel software company.
The controversy started last week, followed by a diplomatic row between the two countries after PM Modi posted several photographs on X, formerly known as Twitter, urging tourists to visit Lakshadweep.
The PM posted multiple photos of him enjoying the scenic beauty of the island, which is the smallest union territory of India. His social media post led people to propose Lakshadweep as an alternative tourist destination to the Maldives.
PM’s post on X was followed by multiple comments by Maldivian government officials, sparking a diplomatic dispute.
Expressing displeasure about Lakshadweep getting international focus following PM Modi’s post, Zahid Rameez, a Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) council member, mocked the PM’s visit, stating that India could never rival Maldives in tourism. “While promoting Lakshadweep is commendable, the belief that they can match our level of service is simply delusional,” he said.
As the controversy started getting bigger, the Maldives Government issued a statement disassociating itself from the remarks made by junior ministers and suspended three of them in response to India’s protest. The posts were deleted after this.
Many people from Bollywood actors to Indian cricketers, to common tourists took to social media to start an online campaign calling for a boycott of Maldives.
Indian celebrities who joined the online campaign and urged people to explore Indian islands include Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Salman Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, and many more.
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