Maldives to launch direct flight to Mumbai from November 15

MUMBAI: Maldives, which is looking at India as one of its key markets to enhance tourism, is planning to launch a direct flight to Mumbai starting from November 15.

"We want to enhance the connectivity between the two countries. For this, we are planning to have direct Maldivian Airlines flights between Mumbai and Male from November 15," Maldives Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Gafoor said.

Initially, the Maldivian Airlines will fly from Mumbai to Male thrice a week and depending on the traffic it will slowly be enhanced to five days a week, he added.

"We are also planning to fly directly to New Delhi from next year," he said.

Currently, Maldivian Airlines fly to Thiruanatapuram five times a week.

Maldives, which is globally positioned as a luxury destination, is still working on its India marketing strategy.

Economically, Asia is on the rise, especially India and China. We are still working on our strategy to position Maldives for Indian Tourists though we plan to cater to upper middle class, luxury segment and youth, he said.

Maldives ecology is very fragile and for this the country is not looking at catering to the mass segment, he added.

Maldives is also ramping up its infrastructure to make it an attractive destination for Bollywood.

"We are setting up infrastructure and working out on incentives that make our country an attractive destination for Bollywood," he said.

In 2011, total arrivals from India were about 11,500, which Gafoor said is expected to go up to 30,000 by 2013, after all its strategies are put in place.