Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited “those who wish to embrace the adventurer in them” to visit Lakshadweep, in a social media post in January. He added, “During my stay, I also tried snorkelling – what an exhilarating experience it was,” however, his attempt to popularise indigenous tourism sparked a shocking display of unprofessional behaviour by Maldivian government officials who unleashed a flurry of personal assaults against him.
The extraordinary development also triggered angry responses from India as many individuals announced that they cancelled their trips to Maldives and others vowed to never visit the island nation. Notably, the incident stemmed from the anti-India plank including clarion calls like “India Out” propagated by Prime Minister Mohamed Muizzu during his election campaign which led to strained ties between the two friendly nations after he came to power last year.
After the fallout, appeals to explore Lakshadweep progressively caught the attention of people who expressed interest in experiencing the beauty of the relatively undiscovered union territory, as the Maldives, previously a favourite holiday destination for Indians, began to lose its appeal. However, the dust settled and the diplomatic tensions eased after a while but the damage had already been done as the archipelago had fallen out of favour for Indians. Interestingly, the country’s loss smoothly translated into Lakshdweep’s benefit as it underwent an influx of fresh tourists and importantly, the trend has only spiked since then.
With more tourists in Lakshadweep, flights also increased
More people are now reportedly travelling to Lakshadweep especially after more seats were added to Agatti. Agatti, the only airport in Lakshadweep, handled 22,990 people during the April to June quarter, which is also India’s busiest travel month. The numbers were only restricted to 11,074 passengers during the same period last year. Indian tourists in the Maldives decreased to 28,604 in the April–June quarter of this year from 54,207 in the corresponding time of last year, according to data issued by the Ministry of Tourism in the country.
This is almost a 50% decrease. According to the data, Muizzu’s request for China to send more tourists appears to have been successful, as it secured the top rank with 1.2 lakh visitors in the first half of 2024. However, there were just 63,450 Indians, a 42.5% decrease, making India the sixth-largest tourist destination in the Maldives. In the first half of 2024, the number of tourists arriving in the Maldives rose only by 9.2% overall when compared to the same period the previous year. It appears that the Indian boycott played a significant role in the reduction in visitor numbers.
On the other hand, Agatti experienced an 88% rise in the number of flights. Compared to 418 movements during the same period last year, there were 786 flights from April to June. In addition to Alliance Air’s daily service, which was expanded at the beginning of the year, IndiGo and Fly91 also provide daily service to Kochi. While IndiGo now leaves Kochi every day, Alliance Air now departs eight times a week. Fly91 has a daily service from Goa and IndiGo also runs the same from Bengaluru. Lakshadweep now has almost four times as many seats as before. These days, cruises include Lakshadweep on their itinerary, with day stops made at the island. These vacationers outnumber those who land there.
Big hotel chains are already constructing new resorts to accommodate the demand. Cirium reported that the number of flights to Lakshadweep grew more than three times, from 31 in July 2023 to 106 in July 2024. As a result, there were 7,844 available tickets in July 2024 when three airlines were operating, compared to 2,170 in July 2023, when only Alliance Air operated flights from Kochi.
While new carrier Fly91 from Goa conducted 21 flights in July, IndiGo, which had no service to Lakshadweep before February 2024, operated 53 flights from Kochi and Bengaluru. There was a 45% decrease in Indian visitors to the Maldives between April and July 2024 dropping to 36,761 as opposed to 66,375 over the same time frame the previous year. The Travel Agents Federation of India’s vice president, Anil Kalsi, believes that if the island’s airport is renovated, the number of visitors might triple.
Low number of flights to Maldives
As compared to the same time last year, the number of flights operating between India and the Maldives stayed relatively constant, revealed data provided by Cirium. From the standpoint of the airlines, however, things do not appear promising since IndiGo has decided not to resume its four times a week service from Delhi and its three times a week service from Hyderabad for the winter schedule, and Air India is completely withdrawing this winter.
Surprisingly, there were only 44 weekly departures between India and the Maldives in June 2024, compared to 59 weekly departures in June 2022, right in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Maldives had evolved into a haven from the pandemic, with the requirement for an RT-PCR test before leaving which provided a sense of security and freedom to move about the hotels rather than being housed in resorts. It was also among the select few nations where travel had resumed.
The boycott campaign has generally been limited to social media for many reasons, but the one that emerged in the wake of the Maldives-Lakshadweep dispute continues to have a significant impact on the tourist sector in both parts. The percentage of Indian visitors to the Maldives has decreased by half this year, from 12% to 6.3%. Except for Vistara, most airlines have either maintained or decreased their capacity in relation to the Maldives.
How PM Modi brought Lakshadweep on the world map
“Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is an influential leader in the country. He visited the Lakshadweep Islands in December 2023. The kind of impact he has had during his visit is huge,” voiced tourism officer Imthias Mohammed in April after PM Modi was seen snorkelling and savouring the island’s natural beauties. He added, “Post his visit, we have been receiving a lot of inquiries. People are very curious to know more about the tourism packages that Lakshadweep tourism offers. We are receiving huge inquiries from the national as well as the international arena.”
“We have been streamlining various tourism activities in the islands. Scuba diving and water sports are the major revenue-generating segments of Lakshadweep tourism. We have been encouraging local entrepreneurs to establish their own tourist homes to encourage educated youth to find their own living in the tourism sector. We are also actively promoting more cruise ship companies and have ambitious plans for promoting yachting tourism,” he highlighted emphasising the prospects for increased tourism there.
Meanwhile, several programs have been launched to promote tourism in Lakshadweep, including the building of more rooms and plans for a large airport, according to its administrator Praful Patel in January, indicating how the archipelago would soon be transformed into a desirable tourist destination in the near future. “The kind of inquiries the Lakshadweep administration is getting after the prime minister’s visit is unbelievable. People from all over the world are expressing the desire to visit the island. This will give a big boost to its economy and generate opportunities for locals.”
“The natural beauty of Lakshadweep carries immense possibilities for the development of the tourism sector. The administration has launched several initiatives, including adding more rooms. The islands will also get a big airport soon. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, Lakshadweep is being discussed not just in India but all over the world,” he pointed out. He conveyed that the plan to create 1,000 new rooms was underway, and work on building 225 rooms for the water villas in Suheli and Kadmat had started.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep and the photos of him walking along the beaches and snorkelling, the events that unfolded thereafter and the development initiatives his government launched in line with his vision to promote India as a well-liked tourist destination worldwide are all responsible for the robust tourism the island is currently experiencing.
Background of the controversy
The controversy started when three deputy ministers from the Maldives disparaged Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his photographs from the trip to Lakshadweep. PM Modi had advocated for the development of the Indian island cluster as a beach resort and the encouragement of domestic travel. However, he was called “clown” and “puppet of Israel” by the snotty ministers. The posts were removed after a massive backlash.
A huge diplomatic dispute erupted over the matter, prompting New Delhi to call the Maldivian embassy and lodge a strong protest against the posts that went viral on social media. A suspension was later imposed on the three deputy ministers. However, it was too late too little as furious Indians had already replaced Maldives with Lakshadweep from the itinerary.
Notably, PM Modi who earlier this year urged couples to “wed in India” to celebrate their union rather than travelling overseas for destination weddings, ensuring that the wealth stays in the nation had posted stunning pictures from his visit to Lakshadweep featuring its scenic beauty to popularise the island for tourists. He made no mention of Maldives yet it managed to irk the politicians there and led to a major row which concluded with a sharp drop in Indian visitors to the country which is mostly dependent on tourism.
Even with Mohamed Muizzu’s journey to India at PM Modi’s oath ceremony and the recent diplomatic settlement which also witnessed Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar’s visit to the country, the previous figures of Indians travelling to the Maldives haven’t been revived.