Male tourism industry dominated by expatriats

by Shirajiv Sirimane

Though the Maldives tourism industry has matured the human recourse sector in the industry is yet to make an impact. According to Maldivians attached to the industry though the tourism product is over 30 years old the country is yet to produce a world-class chef or a hotel manager.

An assistant manager of a Resort said that over 50 percent of the staff attached to hotels are expatriates. The Maldivian staff in hotels too is mostly involved in room service while only few hold executive positions. "There are only a handful of Maldivians doing white collar jobs in the hotel trade," he said.

However in contrast only a handful of expatriates work for the Sri Lankan hotel sector and the main reason for this is that its education system is focused and even the hotel school is of high standard.

He said that the main reason for this is the lack of commitment by the government to develop the Human recourse sector of the industry. He said that there is a hotel school in the country and its standard is very poor.

A Tourism Ministry official in Male said that they are hoping to revamp the hotel school in the future.

Meanwhile a member of the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) member Abdul Gaffer said that the government is allocating more money to defense while the education budget is low.

He said that this was a very strange development since the Maldives is not facing any terrorist threat. He said that third world countries are investing heavily on Education and this is being ignored in the Maldives. "The President's daily expenses are said to be over US $ 20,000," he said.

A Maldivian Chamber member said that 11 resorts are to be auctioned and the proceeded adopted by the government is not fair. He said that the new Finance Minister is a businessman and is involved in the hotel sector as well and he too can be biased. "This can have a negative impact for the tourism industry," he said.

Meanwhile the first congress meeting and elections of the MDP was conducted so smoothly and professionally and it had no negative impact on tourism.

"Though we expected some trouble from thugs sponsored by some senior government officials. I am happy to note that went on peacefully. In a spirit of generosity President Gayoom also permitted party Chairman Mohamed Nasheed (currently under detention) to attend the congress," said MDP Sri Lanka representative, Mohamed Latheef.

Hotel Sigiriya declares interim dividend

Hotel Sigiriya Limited declared a 5% interim dividend for the year 2005/6. The dividend will be paid to its shareholders on 20th January 2006.

With a noticeable drop in arrival of foreign tourists to the country in comparison to last year as a result of the tsunami devastation, the hotel focused on non-traditional markets such as Sri Lankan market, conferences and training contacts which has resulted new revenue streams for the hotel.

Hotel Sigiriya, having started off as a 12 room bungalow in 1972 it now consists of 80 air conditioned rooms. The rooms have character of their own with modern features.

The hotel was recently refurbished and reopened with a new look. The development project costing over 50 million rupees, included the construction of a new open plan restaurant, a purpose built ayurveda centre, a new lounge and bar with a view of the "Sigiriya Rock" and a complete nature/culture interpretation centre.

A unique addition from the development project is the Interpretation Centre with a library which has comprehensive range of books on nature and culture.