5 January 2005
By Haveeru Daily


MALE, Jan 5 (HNS) -- The Tourism Ministry has said that damages to resort islands from last week’s tsunami may amount to US$100 million.

Deputy Director Ismail Firaq said that most of the damages received were to furniture and equipment like generators.

A technical committee has now found out that structural damages to resorts were not as worse as earlier thought.

“We expect them to come into operation earlier than previously thought,” Firaq said after referring to assessment by the team which includes civil engineers and architects.

Nineteen resorts had to be closed down after the tsunami struck on Sunday last week, with six resorts sustaining extensive damages.

Before the tsunami struck after an earthquake of 9.0 magnitude off Indonesia, there were 16,400 tourists beds in operation in Maldives. But that number has now reduced to 12,846.

Firaq predicted that this month there will be fewer tourists. More tourists are predicted to come in February while he predicts that in March resort occupancy would go up to 60 percent. After July, occupancy may be sustained at 70 percent, Firaq said.

While 616,000 tourist arrivals were recorded last year, there may be a 28 percent plunge in tourist arrivals this year, the Tourism Ministry said.

This is because about 400 to 500 beds may not still be in operation at the end of this year.