'Boycott Maldives, divert all enquiries to Lakshadweep,' Indian Chamber of Commerce urges tour operators

The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on Monday urged tourism and trade associations to stop promoting the Maldives and divert all enquiries to the Indian islands of Lakshadweep. In a statement, Subhash Goyal, who heads the Expert Committee on Tourism at ICC, requested tour operators to suspend their operations in the Maldives in view of the "anti-India feelings" expressed by the country's deputy ministers. 

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Goyal said anti-India comments were made in spite of the fact that Indians were one of the biggest sources of foreign exchange and the creation of jobs in the Maldives. "Please divert all such enquiries to Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands which are even better than Maldives in many ways and other destinations which can be promoted in the Indian ocean area are Srilanka, Mauritius, Bali, Phuket etc," he said.

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The expert committee head also appealed to all the Indian carriers operating to Maldives to suspend their operation and "seriously think of operating to Lakshadweep Islands under the Udaan Scheme". He said the members of FHRAI (Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India) and the Hotel Association of India should seriously look at investing in Lakshadweep Islands as "in the future, it will give them better returns on their investment than the Maldives".

"I have already asked STIC Travels to stop selling Maldives. This appeal has been made as a patriotic Indian in the larger national interest," he said in the statement addressed to the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), Association of Domestic Tour Operators (ADTOI). 

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On Sunday, online travel firm EaseMyTrip suspended all bookings to the Maldives in response to derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India. "In solidarity with our nation, @EaseMyTrip has suspended all Maldives flight bookings," said Nishant Pitti, CEO of EaseMyTrip.

MakeMyTrip, another travel booking app, said that its platform observed a 3400 per cent increase in searches for Lakshadweep ever since PM Modi's visit. "This interest in Indian beaches has inspired us to launch a 'Beaches of India' campaign on the platform with offers and discounts to encourage Indian travellers to explore the country's stunning beaches," it said.

Meanwhile, the search interest worldwide for Lakshadweep reached its highest point in 20 years following Prime Minister Modi's visit to the archipelago. A simple search on Google in the time frame of 20 years shows a flat line with a steep rise in 2024. 

Prime Minister Modi visited Lakshadweep on January 2 and 3 to inaugurate several projects. He posted pictures of his undersea exploration and early morning walks on the pristine beaches. "For those who wish to embrace the adventurer in them, Lakshadweep has to be on your list. During my stay, I also tried snorkelling - what an exhilarating experience it was," he wrote.

However, PM Modi was mocked by the Maldives' three deputy ministers, who inferred that his visit was an attempt to project the Union Territory as an alternative tourist destination to the Maldives. Following the backlash, the Maldivian government had to suspend all three ministers - Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid.