According to The Telegraph Maldives plans to reopen for travel starting July 1st, 2020 after being closed to tourism since March 27th. As part of this reopening there will be strict requirements as follows:
- Travelers will need to
- Apply for a tourist visa in advance ($100 cost, previously not required for many countries)
- Have a minimum of 14 nights booked
- Have sufficient travel insurance for the duration of the stay
- Must submit either a negative COVID-19 antigen test (virus is not currently in the body) or a positive antibody test (you’ve had the virus but have acquired immunity)
- Must submit another antigen test when landing at Malé airport (and must be isolated until this comes back. This will take between three and 12 hours)
- All resorts will be required to
- hold a stock of PPE equipment and have a certified medic on staff
In the article The Telegraph also points out that those arriving by yacht or private jet will be able to enter starting June 1st and July 1st is the date for commercial flights. I can see why the Maldives are doing this, at the moment they have relatively few cases (1,457 with 5 deaths). It seems that they are focused on getting the most wealthy visitors back first with things like the 14 night stay requirement. I think it will be hard to get sufficient travel insurance, especially when insurance companies know there is a real risk of travelers being turned away after arriving. It’ll also be a tough sell for wealthy travelers to have to stay in Malé until the test comes back. I suspect we will see resorts start to sell packages that fulfill these requirements.
Hat tip to OMaaT
