Maldives: Maldives cancels all cruise ships from entering, docking

The Maldivian government has decided to temporarily suspend all cruise lines from entering and docking in the Maldives as a precaution against the rapidly spreading coronavirus. The country has also barred individuals that have travelled or transited from Iran, and Daegu and Gyeongbuk in South Korea. In February alone, 15 cruise ships docked in the Maldives, while 19 cruise ships arrived in the island nation in December 2019, based on statistics from Maldives Immigration. According to Mohamed ‘Bunny’ Ali, secretary general of the Maldives Association of Yacht Agents (MAYA), there were 14 foreign cruise lines carrying a combined 20,000 passengers that were scheduled to arrive between March 1 and April 23. The ban, which is the government’s latest move to protect the tourism-reliant country island from the Covid-19 outbreak, coincides with the increase in number of cruise ship arrivals to the Maldives.