The Story of MATI – A Story of Maldives
Saturday 13th of August 2022
Rewind the time back 50 years and imagine a Maldives with no banks, no telephones and not one single international airport. This was the situation of the Maldives when the first groundworks of tourism were laid down, a historical moment that will rewrite the future of our nation. With repeated warnings from the United Nations advising the country that it did not have the essential infrastructure to support such an industry, a group of forward-thinking and ambitious individuals opened the gateways to our tropical paradise by introducing Tourism to the Maldives in 1972. The first delegation of tourists arrived in the Maldives on 16th February 1972, cementing the country’s prosperity and progress in black ink.
As Maldives celebrates its golden jubilee year of tourism in 2022, it is incumbent to take a glimpse at the leading pioneers that paved way for such a tremendous feat reshaping the course of Maldives. With an economy heavily relied on the backbone of our finest industry- The Tourism Industry, it is of great significance to acknowledge our predecessor masterminds.
Founding of MATI
One such prominent organization that played a pivotal role in assisting the tourism industry to reach its current fame and glory is The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI). Founded on 12th August 1982, the non-profit, non-governmental organization strived to eliminate challenges faced by the industry in its early days. These hindrances include the barriers to developing infrastructure, logistics and capital development in the country along with the non-existential laws and regulations that are supposed to govern the industry. With such major obstructions restraining the expansion of Tourism, MATI came up with a five Point Priority Agenda targeted to address these pressing concerns.
The five priority agenda include:
1. Resort lease period extension
2. Transparent formula for resort lease rent fixing
3. Just compensation for investment at the end of lease of resort
4. Equal treatment of all resort investments irrespective of date of investment
5. Lobby for establishing the best Hotel School in the region in the Maldives
With these key priorities, MATI elected its first acting members. Namely Mr. Mohamed Umar Maniku of Universal Enterprises Pvt Ltd and the Late. Mr. Mohamed Latheef of Jetan Travels Pvt. Ltd. Mr. Mohamed Umar Maniku also stepped in as the Chairman of MATI back then, a title which he fills even up to this day. The first executive board of MATI was also created then with renowned names in the industry making the crowd including Mr. Hussain Afeef as vice-Chairman-a role he still fills today, Mr. Qasim Ibrahim as the Financial Controller and many more noteworthy individuals making to the list.
MATI Through The Years
During the 40 years of its existence MATI has immensely contributed to the betterment of the industry through accomplishing the 5 agendas that they stood for.
MATI played a crucial role in extending the leasing of resorts in the Maldives with initial lease periods of 21-35 years being granted. The unyielding efforts of the organization further extended the duration to 25-50 years improving the scope of investment in the industry. When the 2nd amendment of the Maldives Tourism Act was ratified in 2010, the leasing period was expanded to 50-99 years under some certain criteria which is still in effect today.
In 1983, they were also the first organization to advocate and launch the practice of creating National Tourism Master Plans which was later adopted and implemented by the Ministry of Tourism.
The open-burning fires from K.Thilafushi posed as a long unresolved hindrance to the Tourism Industry. MATI represented the entire Tourism Industry by exchanging dialogues with the Government of Maldives to cease the fires. Their efforts were successful in this regard with the last open fires been stopped permanently in the year 2021.
The Covid-19 pandemic is the most recent threat that jeopardized the Tourism. With borders closing and many resorts facing financial difficulties, MATI appealed on behalf of the industry for the deferment of Tourism Land Rent of quarters 2,3 and 4 of 2020. Their concerns were addressed on 20th May 2022 with the President announcing the deferment of land rent for quarter 3 and 4 of 2020.
MATI Today
Now, MATI is seen as an integrated part of Tourism and has secured strong connections with Government and all related agencies of the industry. They have and still do important work to remove challenges in the Tourism industry especially during the worst-hit times of the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes advocating for the re-opening of borders in a safe and secure manner as well as initiating the launch of short-term financing solutions with the Bank of Maldives.
To commemorate the 50 years of tourism, MATI has come up with many events lined up for the year such as the 50 years of Tourism Awards by MATI and the launching of two books depicting the history of our fine industry. They have even partnered with Chevening to introduce scholarship programs to mark this hallmark year of tourism.
Sporting 140 members from various international and domestic tourist establishments, MATI now envisions the Maldives in becoming the “World Leader in Sustainable Tourism”. Through MATI’s contributions, the tourism industry has grown and prospered impressively, driving with it the country’s progress. Therefore, the story of Maldives and its tourism, can only be written entwined with the humble beginnings of MATI ingrained in them.