Cabinet's nod to tourism MoU with Maldives

The union cabinet on Wednesday gave ex post facto approval to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and the Maldives for strengthening cooperation in tourism.

The MoU with the Maldives will be instrumental in increasing the tourist arrivals from this important source market.

In recent years, Maldives has emerged as an important tourism generating market for India, an official release said after a cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to the official communique, the main objectives of the MoU are: to expand bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector, to exchange information and data related to tourism and encourage cooperation between tourism stakeholders, including hotels and tour operators.

It will also seek to establish an exchange programme for cooperation in human resource development, invest in tourism and hospitality sectors and exchange visits of tour operators, media and opinion makers for the promotion of two-way tourism, the release said.

Both sides will participate in travel fairs and exhibitions in each other's country and "promote safe honourable and sustainable tourism".

--IANS

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