|
Location Information:
The
Maldives or Maldive Islands,
officially Republic of Maldives, is
an island nation in the Indian Ocean
formed by a double chain of
twenty-six atolls stretching in a
north-south direction off India's
Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy
Island and Chagos Archipelago. It
stands in the Laccadive Sea, about
seven hundred kilometres (435 mi)
south-west of Sri Lanka.
The
atolls of Maldives encompass a
territory spread over roughly 90,000
square kilometers, making it one of
the most disparate countries in the
world. It features 1,192 islets, of
which two hundred are inhabited.[5]
The Republic of Maldives's capital
and largest city is Malé, with a
population of 103,693 (2006). It is
located at the southern edge of
North Malé Atoll, in the Kaafu
Atoll. It is also one of the
Administrative divisions of the
Maldives. Traditionally it was the
King's Island, from where the
ancient Maldive Royal dynasties
ruled and where the palace was
located.
The
Maldives was largely terra incognita
for tourists until the early 1970s.
Strewn across the equator in the
Indian Ocean, the Maldives
archipelago possesses an
exceptionally unique geography as a
small island country. Nature has
fragmented the archipelago into
1,190 tiny islands that occupy a
mere one per cent of its 90,000 km2
territory. Only 185 islands are home
to its 300,000 population, while the
other islands are used entirely for
economic purposes of which tourism
and agriculture are the most
dominant. Tourism accounts for 28%
of GDP and more than 60% of the
Maldives' foreign exchange receipts.
Over 90% of government tax revenue
comes from import duties and
tourism-related taxes. The
development of tourism has fostered
the overall growth of the country's
economy. It has created direct and
indirect employment and income
generation opportunities in other
related industries. The first
tourist resorts were opened in 1972
with Bandos island resort and
Kurumba Village.
According to the Ministry of Tourism
website, the emergence of tourism in
1972 transformed the economy of the
Maldives, moving rapidly from the
dependence on the fisheries sector
to the tourism sector. Just in three
and a half decades, the industry has
become the main source of income and
livelihood of the people of the
Maldives. Tourism is also the
country's biggest foreign currency
earner and the single largest
contributor to the GDP. Today, there
are 89 resorts in the Maldives with
a bed capacity of over 17,000,
providing world class facilities for
tourists whose annual arrival figure
exceeds 600,000.
Local
Weather:
|
