Page 153 - Hospitality Horizon - February-March 2021

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island o plentyf

FOR THE SMART INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER IN THE NEW NORMAL THERE

IS NO PLACE QUITE LIKE MALDIVES TO ENJOY THE SUNNY SIDE OF LIFE

BY RUPALI DEAN

ust when I think international travel the Indian Council of Medical Research
would be a distant dream in 2020, owing (ICMR) which means you do not need to
Jto COVID-19, I hear that Maldives has quarantine either. And with visa on arrival for
opened up for tourism and being the traveller Indians, it makes things less cumbersome.
that I am, I immediately turn my dream into
reality and find myself preparing for a SETTING OUT
weeklong trip to the Maldives, a nation of I fly Air India via Trivandrum from Delhi and
islands. am given a go ahead only once they see my
Covid negative report. At the airport and on
SAFETY CHECK the flight everyone is wearing a mask and face
To begin with, Maldives is a one island, one shields. (IndiGo has also started direct flights
resort country and all resorts open have from Mumbai to Male on Thursdays and
mostly no Covid cases. Secondly, it’s a Sundays since November.)
mandate to enter the Maldives only if you I reach Male and thankfully since my PCR
have tested negative from a lab listed under (Polymerase Chain Reaction) report and

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hospitality horizon FEBRUARY-MARCH 2021