Regardless of intentions, the comparison of the two countries while also insulting the unique selling point of the Maldives which is the uniquely beautiful beaches was ill-received by Maldivians.
visitmaldives.com
Those who either work or have an interest in the travel and tourism industry always look forward to big trade fares as it always brings about the new, the old and the upcoming in the global tourism industry.
Not only does this trade fair promote tourism all around the globe, but it also gives attendees as well as anyone following the trade shows a perspective into the new concepts or resorts that countries are going to be investing in the coming years. And while ITB always brings in some fresh ideas and perspectives, this year’s ITB proved to be a questionable one as it ended with Sri Lanka and the Maldives, two neighbouring countries feuding over a statement that was made by the Sri Lankan minister of tourism.
You know what they say, all PR is good PR. Whether your statement makes your country look bad or good, if your statement goes viral enough it’s going to get people talking about you as well as the destination. And it appears that this statement might be true after all as that is exactly what the Sri Lankan tourism minister did on the final day of ITB Berlin 2023.
While the Maldives and Sri Lanka are two very different tourist destinations that are marketed extremely differently regardless of being tropical locations, over this ITB Berlin the Tourism Minister of Sri Lanka Harin Fernando ended up making major comparisons between the two destinations over a statement that was given by him.
Though the statement started off with the minister stating all the good reasons to visit Sri Lanka and what makes the country attractive as a destination, the statement ended on a note that was perceived extremely negatively by a majority, especially Maldivians. In his statement, he compared the two countries by stating that Sri Lanka has so much more to offer than just the beaches, unlike the Maldives where people only have the beaches and get bored within five days as they are stuck in the same place.
Regardless of intentions, the comparison of the two countries while also insulting the unique selling point of the Maldives - which is the uniquely beautiful beaches was ill-received by Maldivians, and on March 12, 2023, the Tourism Minister of the Maldives finally responded to this comparison.
The Maldivian Tourism Minister Abdulla Mausoom took to Twitter to state that the Maldives is not only the winner of the Worlds Leading Destination title three years in a row, but he also stated that the Maldives is the benchmark of the world in the tourism industry. He ended his tweet with ‘If jealous and in doubt please ask the mirror again and again!’.
This was very obviously a response to the statement given by the Tourism Minister of Sri Lanka, and following this Tweet, the Sri Lankan Tourism Minister finally responded to clear up the apparent misconception as well.
“ My statement made in Berlin regarding the beautiful Maldive islands has been taken out of context and been misrepresented on social media. I wish to clarify that we work together with our neighbor on tourism and would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused” Tourism Minister Harin Fernando on Twitter @fernandoharin
