South Asian Business news and information

Recently, the image of Maldives had a great face lift thanks to some cool celebrities like Madonna and Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes. They visited Maldives and enjoyed the sunny side of life. Thus, Maldives has emerged as one of the most attractive holiday destinations in the world. In 2007, we can expect a healthy increase in the arrival of tourists in the country.

Well, I am not that much concerned about the economy of Maldives. It has survived the terrible devastation of Tsunami 2004 and the economy is in the right direction now. I am just only concerned about the condition of the people. First of all, the reconstruction efforts of the government and the NGOs have not been able to restore the lives of many people to normalcy. Secondly, in 2007, we may see some political turmoil in the country as President, Abdul Gayoom, is still reluctant to allow full democracy.

What is next in Maldives in 2007? Violent pro-democracy movement like Nepal or slow but peaceful transition towards democracy like Bhutan? Only time will tell.