Perspectiva de los dispositivos fotónicos

Tourism began with less than one thousand visitors in 1972, but has grown to be the most dominant sector in the economy, marking a new epoch in the economic history of the Maldives. Tourism accounted for 27.2 percent of GDP and 51.5 percent of foreign currency earnings to the country in 2008 (Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, 2009).

The Maldives tourism product is based on a unique concept of one-island, one resort.

This is a classic example of enclave tourism, where the island is entirely closed and socially, physically and economically self-contained. Each tourist resort is situated on a previously uninhabited island with has modern facilities. In other words, each resort is an autonomous self-sustaining unit which generates its own resources such as power, water supply, telecommunication, sewerage, etc. The secluded feature of the product limit reduces contact with locals to the staff. However, excursions to local islands are encouraged. The Maldivian tourist product is primarily based on sea, sand, and sun. A large portion of tourist arrivals depend on package tours arranged in one resort (one island) accommodation (Shareef & McAleer, 2008). Tourists arriving to safari boats are also arranged in a similar manner to spend their entire vacation in one boat engaged mainly on scuba diving and water sports.

Telecom statistics (2004 - 2008)

31503 32296 32181 33063 46925

113346 203620 271053 312527 435627

2289 4548 8088 12350 17864

1029 3260 6765 11039 16536

0 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 300000 350000 400000 450000 500000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Fixed lines Mobile subscribers internet subscribers broadband subscribers

85 According to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, there were 89 resorts (as of August 2007), 10 hotels (as of April 2007), 26 guest houses (as of November 2006), and 286 travel agencies (as of May 2007) (Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, n.d).

According to the data from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, a high concentration of the tourism bed capacity is available in the capital or in nearby islands, where Kaafu atoll and Alif atoll have a share of 71.3 percent. A major development in the tourism sector is the government’s decision to expand and strengthen tourism in the Maldives as an instrument of economic and social development. This decision was reflected in the Third Tourism Master Plan 2007-2011’s vision to expand the industry (Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, 2006b). As shown in Table 4, by the end of 2008, there was a major increase in bed capacity in the country. The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture expects that by the end of 2009, there will be at least one tourist resort in every atoll (Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, 2009).

Table 4: Number of Accommodation establishments and their Bed Capacity 2004-2008

Type of establishment

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

No. Beds No. Beds No. Beds No. Beds No. Beds Resorts 87 16,858 88 17,348 89 17,802 92 19,028 94 19,860

Hotels 2 636 8 636 8 713 11 836 13 1,110

Guest Houses 28 425 28 425 21 391 24 400 24 400

Safari Vessels 113 1676 121 1789 116 1599 133 1923 143 2,094 Total 236 19,595 245 20,198 235 20,505 260 22,187 274 23,464

Source: (Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, 2009)

The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, reports that locals operate 52.0 percent of the total bed capacity of the Maldives (See Table 5). Resorts operated by foreign companies hold 28.7 percent of the total bed capacity in 2008 with an increase of three resorts since 2006. Although the number of resorts operated by joint venture companies remains constant, their bed capacity increased to occupy a 19.3 percent share of the total in 2008.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, 2007 ended with the highest record of 675,889 visitors in a year. Table 6 shows the tourist arrivals to the Maldives by year from 2004 to 2008. The high total for the year 2008 reflects the steady increase in tourist arrivals at the beginning of the year. But the year ended with a decline,

86 reflecting high oil prices and a slowdown in the global economy (Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, 2009).

Table 5: Tourist resorts by type of Operators 2006-2008

Type of

Source: (Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, 2009)

Table 6: Tourist arrival to the Maldives by month 2004-2008

Year J a n F e b M a r A p r M a y J u n J u l A u g S e p O c t N o v D e c T o t a l

Source: (Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, 2009)

* The drop in 2005 reflects the impact of the Asian tsunami in Dec 2004

Europe continues to be the major market for the Maldives, contributing an average of more than 75 percent to the total arrivals during 2004-2008 (Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, 2009). However, according to the ministry there has been a decline in the European market while the Asian market has been steadily increasing. As shown in Table 7, the United Kingdom continued to be the major market, while Russia was the fastest growing market moving to be in 4^th place ranking, and Japan dropped to the 7^th position (Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, 2009).

According to the Ministry one of the major factors contributing to the increase in Russian arrivals was the implementation of chartered flights from Moscow to Male’. As reflected in Figure 8, both scheduled and charter flight passengers have been increasing with exception of 2005.

87 Table 7: Tourist arrivals and Market share of Top 10 markets to the Maldives in 2007 &

2008

Source: (Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, 2009)

Figure 8: Passenger arrivals by type of Carrier (2004-2008) (Data source: (Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, 2009))

* The drop in 2005 reflects the impact of the Asian tsunami in Dec 2004

Tourism, being the largest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product, employed 16 percent of the total expatriate workforce in the country in 2008 (DNP, 2009b). Tourism is estimated to provide about 10% of employment (Buckley, 2003, p.199) and the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (2006b) estimates that in 2006 the tourism industry provided about 20,000 jobs.

There are limited opportunities for education and training. According to the Ministry of Tourism (2006b), employment in professional categories such as cheffing and accountancy are dominated by expatriates. The Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism

Passenger Arrivals by type of Carrier (2004-2008)

88 studies under MCHE offers courses and training for the tourism industry but the total number of graduate figures shows a decline at the time when the need is increasing, as shown in Table 8.

Table 8: Enrolment and Graduates at FHTS

2003 2004 2005 2006

Enrolment 814 899 654 392

Graduates 391 564 332 196

Source: (FHTS 2006 as cited in Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, 2006b)

The existing technological infrastructure and the level of ICT usage in the tourism sector is not documented in any of the publications available from the Ministry of Tourism. However, their Master Plans highlight the need for it. For instance, the Maldives Second Tourism Master Plan 1996-2005, acknowledges the “marketing plans should embrace the latest technologies available to a destination” (Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, 2006a), while the Maldives Third Tourism Master Plan emphasises the need for the “industry to resort to e-methods of doing business and must encourage resort managements to train staff in e-methods of business” (Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, 2006b, p.69). The Third Tourism Master Plan also notes that all tourist resorts have fixed telephone line services and Internet services. The government’s intentions to facilitate high-speed Internet access to tourism facilities and to areas where live-aboard (cruising) activities are conducted are also highlighted in this plan.