There are a lot of places people get confused about spending their vacations at. Most of them prefer America or Europe. But there is so much unexplored beauty in Asia that slips people’s mind while planning their escape from tiring routines and polluted cities. The third world countries really look forward to promote tourism that can give a real boost to respective economies.
Amongst the under developed countries, Maldives is one place that is catching attention of the fun lovers and peace seekers. Maldives can be best described as a string of islands, with white sand, clear blue water and greenery that takes your breath away.
Geographically, politically and socially very close to India, the islands are blessed with the most colorful of reefs and coral gardens. Having such close attachment to the State of India, Maldives plan to target Indian tourists mostly.
Every country has its own style and strategy to attract tourist. In Maldives, which is home to 6.5 lakh people including 85,000 Indians, the main plan involves Bollywood as a soul promoter to Maldivian tourism. Yes, Maldives is a country that is not only a blessing to look at, but has recently offered the Indian Film Industry to shoot movies at the breathtakingly beautiful places at the Island. According to Maldivian Minister of Tourism Toyyid Mohammad, Maldives had proposed Bollywood during recent months to use one of its exotic places as a permanent location to shoot movies on.
Reason behind this, he commented, is also the popularity of Bollywood movies in the Maldivian population. The country survives mainly on tourism. Presence of celebrities like Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan, who already have a huge fan following globally, has the potential to attract a large number of tourists to the islands.
It seems that vowing Bollywood for tourism promotion with such offers will not be very difficult for Maldives.
Recently, Kites starring Hrithik Roshan was shot on one of these islands. The location in this movie left a mark not only on the minds of cinema goers in India but also became one of the favorite places of the star cast. Hrithik Roshan, having everything but a break in five years was stunned by the natural beauty of the islands. He spent quite some time with his wife on the islands too and claimed that though he had traveled to a lot of places and admires many of them, the Maldivian islands, of all the places are his most desired spot in the world.
With Bollywood as a tool for tourism promotion, Maldivian development strategists prove to be real smart. In the long run, it can have precious income generation opportunities for the Maldivian Islands. Several of the resorts, on their openings had already invited some of the hottest Indian actors and models to capture attention of the South Asian region. With high quality status and luxurious living standards, Maldivian resorts provide a wide range of exotic experiences. Another way of promoting resorts has been their frequent appearance as television advertisements. Since the place is full of natural beauty and human made extravagance, it does not escape the mind of the viewer for years.
The Maldives has also been visited frequently by Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise, Britney Spears and Fergie who have chosen the Maldivian islands as their favorite summer and relaxing spot. The tourism promotion authorities in Maldives must look forward to a great future, welcoming thousands of tourists from around the world and giving Maldivian economy an enormous boost. But caution needs to be exercised as cashing in on the beauties of nature may come easy but maintaining it can be a real task ahead.
Published in South Asia Magazine, November 2010
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