The Russian Union of Travel Industry believes that Bank of Maldives classifies payments for Russian tourists’ accommodation as transactions related to Russia. The RUTI clarified that refunds began on October 18 when hotel bookings were paid for, and the money was returned even in cases where the payers were foreign legal entities.
Because of this situation, the union asked the Ministry of Economic Development and the Russian Embassy in the Maldives to hold consultations with local authorities to ensure uninterrupted payments for tourism services. The association warned that payment refunds lead to additional costs for tour operators and may complicate travelers’ accommodation.
ART-TOUR CEO Dmitry Arutyunov said that hotels that have not received payment are demanding that tourists pay for their stay again under threat of being denied check-in. Bank of Maldives itself confirmed that it does not process transfers related to Russia or connected to it, and referred to its current policy under which Russia is included in the list of countries with restricted access for money transfers.
RUTI board member Artur Muradyan believes that refunds and uncertainty over payment could reduce tourist traffic to the Maldives. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia, in turn, said that only some companies had encountered difficulties with transfers, while most members of the association had isolated incidents.
It also emphasized that Russians’ vacations in the Maldives are proceeding as planned, and internal payment issues are being resolved without the participation of tourists. The Maldives remain a popular destination for Russians: from January to August, more than 198,000 Russian tourists visited the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, which accounts for almost 15% of all foreign tourist traffic, said Maldives Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen. He predicted that 300,000 Russians would visit the Maldives by the end of the year and noted that Russian citizens are especially important for the premium segment of tourism on the islands.
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