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 Maldives
Islands
Tourism History
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| HISTORY
OF TOURISM, MALDIVES |
| This
section will feature chapters from the book 'Tourism in the Maldives-
25 years of sustainable development' written by Ahmed NIYAZ and published
by the Ministry of Tourism, Maldives in 1998. |
| The
travel enthusiast - his new discovery |Back to
top| |
The
Italian travel enthusiast George Corbin is a keen traveller who visited
South Asian countries to discover new opportunities. He explored India,
Sri Lanka and also Minicoy (or Maliku) which was regarded in the pastas
an island of the Maldives. He came across the tiny islands of the
Maldives when he was searching a map for the 'virgin islands'. While
he was searching for new destinations and information about untouched
tropical places in Colombo, he met Mr Kerefa Ahmed Naseem at the Maldivian
High Commission.
The
flamboyant outspoken Naseem impressed Mr Corbin and provided valuable
information about the Maldives. The outcome was a trip by Mr Corbin
to the Maldives during October 1971 in the 'Maldives Exporter', a
cargo ship. Mr Naseem also accompanied him on this trip and they talked
in detail about the possibility of bringing tourists to the Maldives.
An Italian travel photographer, Frenchesco Benini, also accompanied
Mr Corbin.
The
adventurous tour organizer realized the potential of the Maldives
as a tourist heaven on his arrival and decided that he had found the
perfect holiday destination. Mr Corbin described his first impression
of the Maldives as "breathtaking". In Male' he met the young
entrepreneur Mr Mohamed Umar Mainku and they were both keen to explore
the new venture. Mr Corbin travelled to nearby islands in a boat owned
by Kolige, the home of Mr Maniku. These islands include Vihamanafushi
(now Kurumba), Farukolhufushi (now Fullmoon) and many more nearby.
The Maldivian guide who accompanied him on most trips was Mr Champa
Hussain Afeef. Mr Corbin and Mr Benini photographed the picture perfect
islands and spent a wonderful time writing texts about the Maldives.
As
soon as they returned from the Maldives, Mr Corbin published articles
on his new found adventure destination. They also wrote a book called
Duemila isole felici which was published in 1973. |
| Tourists
in the Natural Paradise - the first tour group |Back
to top| |
The
Italian tour organizer foresaw the fantasy that awaits in these small
tropical islands. He did not waste time but started preparing the
itinerary for the first tourist group to set foot on the Maldivian
white sand. "I could feel the potential that these beautiful
islands could offer the tourists." said Mr Corbin. Then he realized
that there was hardly any place to stay and there was no way to fly
to the isolated tropical islands. With his organizational flair, experience,
his Maldivian friends and partners, he was able to solve these obstacles.
Mr Corbin wrote "No difficulties at all because my local partner
was in charge for all the local primary stage" . He was referring
to Mr Naseem and his companions.
On Wednesday, 16 February 1972, the first tourist group arrived on
Hulhule Island. They came on a charter flight of Air Ceylon and landed
at the tiny airstrip on the Hulhule island. Mr Hussain Afeef met them
at the airport and took them to Male'. Among the 22 Italian tourists
were writers and photographers, who were fascinated by the natural
beauty of the islands. Mr Ahmed Naseem and Mr M U Maniku made all
the necessary accommodation and dining arrangements for their stay
in the capital Male'. On the very first day they had lunch in the
'Queen of the Night', a famous local restaurant which served Maldivian
food. "We gave an order to 'Queen of the Night', asking them
to prepare the best menu" said Mr Afeef. The menu included biriyani,
curry, rice and many other side dishes. But it was not the best menu
for Europeans who rarely eat spicy foods. None of the guests enjoyed
the meal because it was too spicy for them. So the escorts decided
to cook themselves. "It was quite exciting." said Mr Maniku,
recalling his first experience with tourists. "We didn't know
what to cook for them, or how to deal with them". They did what
they thought to be best for their new friends and guests. Accommodation
was arranged in three different houses, Maagiri, Kaneeru Villa and
Lux Wood. During the 12 days they spent in the Maldives they made
daily visits to local and uninhabited islands. They also snorkelled
around Male''s house reef, hunting fish. Mr Ahmed Naseem, Mr M U Maniku
and Mr Hussain Afeef accompanied them. The tourists also spent time
snorkelling, photographing underwater and spear fishing, which was
said to be the main sport at that time. Mr Corbin said that their
expectations were exactly what they had seen on slides.
After
being spoilt by the sun, sea and sand for 12 days they flew back to
Italy leaving with happy memories. They were very enthusiastic and
repeated their visits to the Maldives. However, they expressed their
feelings about the virgin destination in newspapers through photographs
and news articles. It opened a door for others to experience the untouched
islands. After the return of the first organized tour group, Mr Corbin
and his agency 'Agenzia Viaggi Sesto Continente' were busy sending
tourists regularly. |
| Main
Sport - spear fishing |Back to top| |
The
reefs and surrounding lagoons of the islands of the Maldives are rich
in sea life. It is a habitat for large and small multicoloured fish.
The Italian tourists who visited in 1972 brought equipment to catch
fish. Most liked spear fishing and they brought guns and other snorkelling
equipment with them.
According to Mr M U Maniku, the first group who visited Kurumba Village
snorkelled to hunt fish. They caught sharks, eels, snappers, groupers
and many more. These fish ended up on barbecue tables and they enjoyed
eating their own catch. The first tourist brochure published by Mr
Corbin advertised the Maldives as an ideal place for spear fishing.
However,
this sport did not prove to be very popular with environmentalists
and nature lovers. The first German group who visited Kurumba Village
disliked the sport and they objected to spear fishing. As a result
the management of Kurumba Village decided to ban the sport in Kurumba.
Later the government realized the threat to sea life if this sport
were allowed to continue and banned spear fishing in Maldivian waters. |
| The
first tourist agencies |Back to top| |
Muman
Agency was the first tourist agency to open in the Maldives and was
involved in the construction of the first tourist resort, Kurumba
Village on Vihamanaafushi. The shareholders of this agency were Mr
Mohamed Umar Maniku and Mr Ahmed Naseem. Construction of a resort
on Male' atoll Kuda Huraa was also undertaken by this agency and came
into service in 1977 with a bed capacity of 32.
In 1972 another agency was born named Crescent Tourist Agency. It
was established as a private company and shareholders were Mr Ibrahim
Nasir (the former president), Mr Ali Umaru Manik, Mr Ahmed Adam and
Mr Kandi Ahmed Ismail Maniku.
The construction of Bandos Island as a tourist resort was undertaken
by this agency in 1972. In the following year they began to develop
resorts on Furanafushi (now Full Moon), Farukolhufushi, (now Club
Med), Vilingili (now an inhabited island), and Baros Island. Velassaru
(now Laguna Beach Resort) was developed with 90 beds and opened in
1974. During the same period Crescent Tourist Agency leased Farukolhufushi
to Club Nature and was the first foreign company to manage a resort
in the Maldives. The CTA, which developed 6 resorts, leased all the
islands to different parties before it was dissolved in 1978.
|
| The
Humble Beginning- a resort at Vihamanaafushi |Back
to top| |
Mr
Corbin and his companions visited the Male' atoll Meerufenfushi,
to see whether it was suitable to be developed as a resort. But
for them it was too far from the capital and the Airport. According
to Mr Hussain Afeef the initial survey trip took more than five
hours to arrive at Meerufenfushi. Therefore, Mr Corbin decided it
would not be viable and wise to start construction there. Vihamanaafushi,
being closer to the airport and the capital Male', was the ideal
choice for the young entrepreneurs. It had a splendid beach and
a close house reef which was ideal for snorkelling.
The construction of tourist resorts began with a single resort construction
on an inhabited island. In 1972 the Italian travel enthusiast, George
Corbin,with his pioneering Maldivian companions, M U Manik and Ahmed
Naseem, started the project in Male' atoll Vihamanaasfushi, 3 km
away from the airport. They invested money, effort, time and their
energy, uncertain whether this would turn out to be the first gem
in a multimillion-dollar industry.
Their concept was simple and back to nature. The rooms were constructed
using coral stones, which were erected from the surrounding reefs.
This material, has commonly been used to build houses. The roof
was covered with thatch and coconut timber was used as beams and
columns. En-suite facilities were provided for these rooms. Each
room faced the beach, a popular concept among tourists even today.
Ceiling fans were used to cool the rooms. Electricity was provided
by using two generators and meals were served in the small restaurant,
which was sufficient for 60 guests. Local staff without formal training
were employed throughout the resort.
According to the Maldivian entrepreneurs, construction was nevertheless
a laborious task with the limited facilities available at that time.
National infrastructure was at its lowest level and the country
was just recovering from the impacts of the second World War. "I
was cook, gardener and room boy. We had to do everything ourselves,"
explained Mr Maniku who played a major role to establish Kurumba
Village. "We had nothing in the Maldives then, nothing. No
Banks, no airport, no telephones only ham radio or Morse code with
Colombo. Even the UNDP experts said that tourism would never succeed
because there were no facilities, no infrastructure."
The
workmanship was solely based on the talents of fellow Maldivians
with the innovation and expertise of George Corbin. A sailing boat
was used to transport the construction materials from Male' to the
island of Vihamanaafushi. The 30 room Kurumba Village was opened
on 3rd October 1972 as the first ever Maldivian resort of the fledgling
industry.
Since the forerunner in the idea of tourism was an Italian, the
first group who visited to this resort was also a group of Italian
tourists. In the same year different nationalities, such as Swedish
and German, also visited Kurumba Village. Tourists were transferred
in 'Cola Boat' from the airport to Kurumba Village.
The
island had been upgraded in different phases after its opening,
the major renovation being done during the 80s. Present bed capacity
of the island is 340 which includes presidential suites and two-storey
villa accommodation. Kurumba Village today boasts five-star luxury
amenities with highly qualified managers to run the day-to-day activities
of the resort. It has hosted many international meetings and conferences
in its proud living history.
|
| Bandos
Island- the second exploration |Back to top| |
Male' atoll Bodu
Bandos was the next island developed as the second resort of the Maldives.
The enterprising former president, Mr Ibrahim Nasir, initiated the
resort development project. The Crescent Tourist Agency in which Mr
Nasir had a stake implemented the project. Guestrooms built in Bandos
Island were of good standard with en-suite facilities.
The first phase of the construction involved the building of 32 rooms
with two blocks of 10 rooms and six separate blocks of two rooms.
The design conceptof two blocks of 10 rooms was not a favourite concept
as these rooms were facing inland instead of towards the beach. However,
the construction team soon realized the advantage of having beach
front rooms in a leisure beach resort and increased the room numbers
to 110, the rest being beach front bungalows. Local sand and corals
were used as a major component in the construction.
With 220 beds, Bandos Island Resort was opened on 10th December 1972.
The resort had a restaurant, dive school and other facilities. On
opening, it employed about 60 local people. Since tourism was a new
experience to locals, there was hardly anyone who was experienced
or trained in the management field. To overcome this problem and enhance
smooth running of the resort, two Maldivian women were sent to Colombo,
Sri Lanka to obtain training in the hotel and catering field.
Today, Bandos Island Resort is one of the best resorts of the Maldives,
providing a good standard of services to its clients and staff. It
is also famous as a resort that provides tourists with modern services
including entertainment, accommodation, and business services. Bandos
Island Resort has a modern conference hall which can cater for international
conferences and regional meetings. Bandos was also the first resort
to provide an in-house decompression facility for diving accidents
with its hi-tech 'Decompression Chamber'. |
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AFFORDABLE HOTELS IN MALDIVES
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