Tourism Concepts and Issues: Reflective Essay on Maldives Tourism

This essay provides a reflective account of a personal tourism experience in the Maldives, exploring key concepts, issues, and models relevant to the tourism and hospitality industries. The author recounts their visit to the Maldives, detailing their experiences at a resort, interactions with locals, and observations of the island's development and challenges. The essay discusses the impact of tourism on the local culture, economy, and environment, including the effects of climate change and overdevelopment. It also touches upon theories related to international tourism and hospitality, offering insights into the critical factors that shape the tourism landscape in the Maldives, such as the sensitivity to climate change, and the importance of balancing economic growth with cultural preservation. The essay highlights the significance of the tourism sector for the Maldives, emphasizing its role in generating foreign exchange and providing employment opportunities, while also addressing the need for sustainable tourism practices to preserve the island's natural beauty and cultural heritage. The author reflects on the unique blend of human behavior and the natural environment, and how this influences their understanding of the tourism industry.

TOURISM CONCEPTS AND
ISSUES -ASSESSMENT 2

TABLE OF CONTENT
TABLE OF CONTENT...................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
Personal Experience at Maldives Island......................................................................................3
Critical factors relating to the tourism in Maldives.....................................................................6
Theories related to International tourism and hospitality............................................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Tourism is the form of travelling in order to receive pleasure or do some business related
work. It is the idea of staying in places which are different from the usual environment for not
more than a year for leisure and business related activities is the definition of tourism. It can be
domestic or international. International tourism has both input and output implications which
balances the payments of the country (McKercher, and Mak, 2019). Globalisation of the markets
and businesses has made the tourism sector very popular for mostly leisure activities.
International tourism has many benefits as it mainly helps in promoting small and local
businesses. Along with it helps in increasing the graphs of economy of the country. It raises the
level of standardisation of living of the population while preventing the history and heritage of
that particular location. In addition, to this, international tourism promotes the exchange of
different cultures in different people coming as tourist and travellers.
Island resort and international tourisms are very in demand these days. In the islands
tourism the occupation of most of the population living there is dependent on tourist and tourism.
So the developments in tourism are very beneficial for these localities. Such a tourism
destination is Maldives. This country has the largest part of their economy dependent on the
tourism. It plays an important role in earning foreign exchange revenues and gives opportunities
for employment. The water houses and archipelago are the main sources of attractions to many
tourists to visit this island country. The industry is very sensitive to climate changes, rise of sea
level, and extreme weather conditions which damage the natural attractions preserved for
tourists. This reflective essay deals with personal memorable experience as a tourist in
international destination along with some concepts, issues and models of tourism.
MAIN BODY
Maldives is a country made up of islands in the South of Asia in the Indian Ocean. The
country is known as the country of islands which spans across the equator. I took my trip to the
Maldives just before the pandemic had hit all of us which was in early 2019. The country was
always on my bucket list because of its beautiful and peaceful scenarios and environment
(Salvatore, Chiodo and Fantini, 2018). It’s a perfect destination for every occasion, whether it be
a honeymoon, a family trip or even a solo trip to find yourself. The destination had witnessed
increasing number of tourists in the following years as the government allowed the tourists to
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stay in the local homestays, hotels and guest houses. Earlier it was only for the luxurious resorts
which the rich people could only afford (Chia and Muiz, 2021).
I landed at the Cinnamon Hakuraa Huraa resort which was 150kms south of the capital
Male. The resorts were on its private island of its own which was suprised its own information.
The private island had the big bungalows, restaurants, bars, spa and many operated tours along
the island. The cost of the hotel was not so pocket friendly but it also included meals and drinks.
Comparatively, my option was the cheapest of all the other big hotels. The staff was super
friendly they knew that it is a holiday and treated me accordingly, the meals, the drinks enjoying
the big blue ocean just touching the horizons all the way was all that I was doing during my time
there. The tropical food over there was just too delicious for me to get over with (Stergiou and
Airey, 2018).
The resort included special tours every day which would include snorkelling, dolphin watching
and even scuba diving with whale sharks although it was priced and not included in the hotel
complementary tours. There were fairly numerous couples on the islands as it is more of a
romantic destination I was the only solo traveller hanging out in the middle of the ocean enjoying
my books, watching a film, and chatting up with the locals. My most favourite part of the trip
was the beautiful image of the sun setting down the horizon as far as you could see it was only
water and the fascinating sun was setting down the horizon. I had always been fascinated by new
cultures and to experience the everyday life of the local people I had to go to the real Maldives
and know more about the local extravaganzas (Ahmed, 2018)
I headed to this place called Maafushi in a speedboat from Male. The place was cramped
up in the process of uncontrolled development. There were hotels on each side, one crowded
beach, a few restaurants which would only cater to the tourists. The place was losing out the
locals because they were renting out their land and moving to Male. After a discussion with the
local guest house owner in Maafushi I was told to check out Mahibadhoo. Mahibadhoo was
clean, more buildings and a lifestyle which I wanted to see and observe. The island was setting
up more guest houses and restaurants for the tourists.
I think Maldives as of a nurturing destination which would be better if you are there with
your loved ones. The place is a blow to your pocket but is worth the money in all aspects. The
country is cheaper than its alternatives which are the Caribbean and the South east Asia (Lamers,
Van der Duim and Spaargaren, 2017). Island hopping is a culture and the best thing to do when
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in Maldives. Maldives is getting developed day by day and soon is going to be this
overdeveloped touristic place where you have no sign of peace. The climate change is also
effecting the country and it would be very nice time to enjoy the mesmerizing views of the
country (Tasci, 2019).
Personal Experience at Maldives Island
During my last visit to Maldives Island there was a wide environment experience which I
achieved. And this happened because during my experience analysed that the majority of the
population is a Muslim population and the individuals tourist travelling there have to follow their
traditional approach and working processes while travelling within the country. This was
different from my Expectations and due to which first complexity in understanding the new
approach in which my actions have to be changed and this was and hurdle for me to understand
the diversity of the country. However when I was able to reach the resort then I was mesmerized
by the beauty of the resort which it was be holding (Zuhuree, I., 2017). This happens because the
resort in which I was staying is to be considered as one of the best resorts of the island and
because of this the overall room spacing and the free area was also significantly large. The resort
provided wide range of services to the customers like me and because of which my issues related
to the hospitality industry and travelling to a different country were being fulfilled. The resort
provided unique integrated combination of human behaviour with the natural environment and
this influenced me to developed my understanding such that I am being motivated to implement
this new learning experience within my daily routine life as well this was a lifetime experience
which will affect my life time decisions. This happens because I was able to experience a unique
and differentiated type of balance act and because of which I am I living motivated to take
appropriate measures by which I am highly being motivated to implement appropriate measures,
and due to which I am able to learn knowledge accordingly. My experience within Maldives
Islands was also not being limited to specific segment which allowed me and ability to evaluate
the approaches in which international tourism is being implemented. During my engagement
within the Maldives I was able to analyse the unique approaches in which international tourism
is being implemented and because of which I am also highly being motivated to take appropriate
measures by which diversity within the society can be properly managed. This is an Highly
Effective approach for me because it allowed me an ability to develop and improve is my
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working such that a balance act can be established among individuals of different mindsets. This
is effective because within my academic, personal and professional career there are several
opportunities in which I have to develop a proper bidirectional communication with the
individuals and because of which the professionals implementing International tourism
approaches within the Maldives Island empowered me to analyse different approaches to manage
a large number of groups properly. Since I am able to analyse different communication
approaches to develop or proper bi-directional communication because of which I am being able
to take appropriate measures through which my contribution within my team as well can be
increase. This is a necessary important step because I am being a part of a team at several
occasions for properly utilising my knowledge and understanding about various topics. Therefore
the international tourism which I experienced at the Maldives Island empowers me to implement
appropriate changes with my working process by which I can achieve desired target within
minimum efforts.
The Maldives Island also having a proper implementation of Eco Friendly engineering and this
was being experienced buy seeing the various type of Infrastructures which were being made
upon the ocean. The significance of this increased drastically because the Islands are having a
large number of resorts which are situated on top of water bodies and Hospitality Services are
being provided within the personalized room quarters which are been given to each customer
separately (Zimmerhackel, J.S. and et.al, 2019). Since the Maldives Island provide a wide variety
of direct exposure to the natural heritage while maintaining a reliable infrastructure. Experience
this cultural heritage through analysing the resort infrastructure which was primarily being
developed on top of water bodies which were being erected upon the small mountains within the
ocean. The overall Resort camps well being situated upon the builders which provided height to
the resort above the sea level and there were detailed mesmerizing infrastructure. There were
several unique adventurous approaches as well within this last visit to the island in this was being
experienced approaches like the rooms are being connected through the wooden based bridges
and individuals have to travel the distance upon the bridges to reach their desired room. The
travelling has to be done on the basis of bridges by walking because of which cycling facilities
are also been provided by which resort services can be provided directly to the customers. The
uniqueness of my last visit increase is significantly in this approach in which the room were
provided to individual customers and each one is having its unique complete set of tools and
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Ocean View while in order to increase the attractiveness of the resort several adventurous
approaches like slides are also been added through which a wide range of customers can be
attracted towards the island.
During my visit I was able to establish a direct contact with a large number of individuals
as well which travelling weather in the Maldives Island were and at that segment I was able to
analyse the significance of international tourism. This becomes important for me because I was
having a direct exposure to the cultural diversity which the tourism industry can achieve by
providing new and rear approach in providing services to the customers.
The Maldives Island provided me an ability to analyse different approaches to implement
theoretical learning of hospitality industry working. Since the Maldives Island resorts are having
a large customer base because of which they are highly experienced in terms of providing
Hospitality Services to International customers and this can be seen in their approaches in which
a Direct customer interaction is Octane being performed. It becomes important for me because
during my visit I had to travel a long distance outside my home town and because of which it
was necessary for me to have a proper Hospitality Services by which my desired requirements
can be fulfilled (AUZAR, BANI and ISHAK, 2020). The employees providing Hospitality
Services are also having a proper understanding about the professional approaches in which
customer requirements can be identified and suitable steps can be taken to fulfil their
requirements. Please become significant for me due to the fact that I was having exposure to the
working pattern which is being done by the professionals working within hospitality industry.
Therefore with this approach I am highly being motivated to increase my understanding about
the different innovative approaches which are being implemented by the professionals within
their working area to achieve desired target.
Within my last experience I was being able to take appropriate measures to analyse the
variations within the working processes which the professional are having in terms of
implementing the strategies for achieving high customer satisfaction. This is an important stage
for me because of the fact that with this approach it can ensure that I am having a proper
understanding about the various approaches by which higher work productivity can be
accomplished.
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Critical factors relating to the tourism in Maldives
The Maldives is a country which is highly driven by its tourism industries contribution to
the economy. Situated in the Equator, the country comprises more than a thousand islands. These
islands consist of white sandy beaches, coral gardens, crystal clear water and the turquoise blue
lagoon. The Maldives provide the tourists with unbelievable beauty of the nature which attracts a
lot of the tourists. Tourism generates around 30% of the country’s total GDP which could be
more than double if the complementary industries are also taken into account. The tourism
industry has bought a lot of employment for the country and 70% of its foreign exchange
earnings is from the tourism industry.
The Male international airport is the only international airport which is situated on
Hulhule island. The airport is situated 10 minutes’ ferry ride from the main capital city of the
country and the only transportation service available is a ferry. On my trip I forgot to do better
research on the ferry timings and management and had to take a speed boat which cost almost
more than double the price. If the governments manage to create regional airports and a much
more reliable ferry service it would be a better experience for the tourists (World Bank, 2020).
The global conditions are a major factor for the tourism industry and as well as the
country. The country imports major of its essentials and generates foreign exchange through the
tourism industry and can be heavily impacted by a global economic recession. A global
economic recession would result in the increase in the prices of amenities such as fuel which is
going to hike the costs of tourism industry. Maldives is considered as a medium-sized economic
tourist destination and an increase in the prices may affect the number of tourists which come all
through the year (Alagarsamy, Mehrolia and Aranha, 2020).
The environment is the main attraction of the tourism industry. The tourists come to
enjoy the mesmerizing views and scenarios which the industry offers. With the development of
many resorts on private islands and also the extension from their limits may harm the ecosystem
which is the main attraction of the country. The various sports activities like snorkelling, scuba
diving, reef walking, power boat leave a negative impact on the coral reefs which are the habitat
of so many various species. These coral reefs act as a barrier to the beautiful and lavish resorts
from the huge waves which might destroy them. On my visit to the place talking to the locals
opened my eyes, I was told that the coral reefs are depleting slowly there are not so many
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animals which were seen earlier before. This was the results of the growing and uncontrolled
development in the area. It is great challenge for the government and the operators to protect the
environment and promote the green tourism and green economy. Not only the country and the
tourism is going to effect by the environmental degradation but also a large variety of ocean
animals are going to be effected by this uncontrolled development.
The Maldives is a great touristic destination and I enjoyed every bit of the trip to the
magical islands and the enthralling ocean. The government and the tourism industry of the
Maldives needs to focus on the environment and make the place and the ecosystem of the place
safe and healthy. Not only the locals but also the tourists should help for the initiative and help
the environment by not polluting it in any manner. I would love to take another trip to this
beautiful destination along with my loved ones. For the future generations Maldives is going to
be the most affordable and hypnotic destinations to travel to (Gorina and Tkachenko, 2018).
Theories related to International tourism and hospitality
Tourism sector holds the majority part in the pillars of economy in the world. More and
more countries are bringing tourism industry as their strategic sectors. International tourism has
become main engine of the growth for world economy. The influence of tourism on the economy
is in immense magnitude. The benefits of tourism are not only reflected in terms of wealth and
capital but also the other factors like as employment. There are many large numbers of sectors
which obtain benefits directly and indirectly from tourism sector. Some of the models related to
the international tourism, hospitality and events are, firstly, the descriptive model. It is the
mathematical process which helps in determining real world events and relations between
different elements responsible for them (Cró, and Martins, 2017). This model is used by tourism
organisations to put attention on marketing and advertising efforts. In this model, all the
travellers are set into different groups based on demographics, purchasing behaviour and their
expressed interest. These groups of individuals share the same interest in their likes and dislikes.
The main aspect of descriptive model includes customer segmentation, value based segmentation
where the organisations identify the value of customers, then there is behaviour segmentation
which helps in analysing the usage of products and services and determining the purchase
patterns. Lastly, there is the segmentation based on needs and requirements. It identifies different
ways to capitalise by attracting customers and driving them towards the organisation. This
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model helps to understand the customers and attained desired outcomes.
Explanatory model helps in describing the way things work and it phenomenon. This
model does not provide any complete description and the explanation about that particular thing.
The goal of this model is to find the purpose of testing casual hypothesis. They are used to
establish casual relations with the help of identifying variables by significant relations along with
the outcomes. The descriptions given in the explanatory model is used during the time of
decision and successfully understands the way they relate to reality of the world. This model is
used in situation where there is main focus on awareness of incompleteness of the explanation.
Predictive model is the tool to analyse the process with the help of computational methods.
Predictive models are developed to examine current data and pattern to calculate the probability
of desired outcomes. This type of model, predictions are made to obtain new data. It is classified
into parametric and non parametric models. The sampling of data is done by using logistic
regression where statistical analysis and methods which helps in predicting the parameters of
model (Nguyen, Schinckus, and Su, 2020). It is based on prior observations of the data. The
decisions are made by organising the outcomes and then there is time series analysis which is the
process of illustrating the time period into forming a meaningful statistics.
A great value and the source for capital ad knowledge is exchanged with the tourists
crossing the border. Individuals which invest more on tourism are tend to be more open and
wise. They are very thorough in the knowledge of cultures and different languages. Tourism has
to guarantee the durability of the whole industry. The countries like Maldives which depend on
tourism for their rise in economy must design, evaluate and implement different types of tourism
projects which adds the more values to the tourists. The companies in the tourism sector must
generate strategies to survive competitiveness and offer the tourist best quality in the tourism
model. In the international tourism model, tourists are the main centre of attention of the
projects. A tourism program which is not based on the tourists will not work when compared to
others. Next and the most important thing is that tourism must be sustainable and long lasting in
the market. Places like Maldives must have sustainable tourism which must be extended over the
time (Dogru, Sirakaya-Turk, and Crouch, 2017). The destination of the tourism projects adds the
value to the model of tourism along with the customers. Sustainability and maintenance must be
the prior factors of the political leaders and the local residents of the country. If the territory of
the country is not preserved then it will result in less number of tourists.
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Travellers and tourist are more attracted to places which are safe to travel and the
countries which have a solid democratic institutional framework. Many organisations does not
consider institutional framework but it is very important and fundamental during the time of
customers making decisions about the tour. Countries having strong democratic system where an
individual and the citizens are free and enjoy their life in the country reassures the tourists to be
willing with the peace of their mind about choosing the destination. The next important
parameter is the education. The education of the society must be strict and thus takes the heart of
good tourism projects. It will create an excellent personal experience for the tourists as the
education of the citizens coexists with tourists especially in the places with large number of
visitors such as Maldives. Tourist loo for public safety during their time of the tour and activities
like abuse by local traders and local community makes an essential factor which determines if
tourist is interested in visiting the place. People and the experience of tourists will determine the
interest of future tourist into visiting the place.
All the factors considered for the best performance of a great tourism model also includes
the use of digitalisation. It is a very important tool to attract more and more tourists through the
basis of the use of internet. Internet has become a famous thing in this modern world and the
person who is not on internet does not exist. Therefore, it is important to bring the use of
digitalisation into the tourism industry. Having presence on internet and offering services on the
same platform is very important for any country which likes to gain the power of tourists from
around the globe (Buckley, Guitart, and Shakeela, 2017). Before selecting nay destination,
customers first look through the internet about the location, and its characteristics. Thus, digital
presence is very important for the tourism industry. There are many such factors which can help
in improving efficiency and effectiveness of the models of tourism. These are the fundamental
tools for maintaining good performance of the tourism model. The use of different strategies will
help in making the model of international tourism sustainable and become the solid pillar of
country’s and global economy.
Mass tourism is opposed by the nature based tourism of Maldives. There was a time
where Maldives was not considered as the glamorous getaways there is in the world. In the
present situation Maldives have become a very popular destination for holidays. But this paradise
is in trouble with the threat of climate change and the rising sea levels at this low level island.
There were many suggestions to relocate the entire country. There is an imbalance in the
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environment by facing many damage from pollution, erosion and the climate change. the country
has closed many destinations and implemented some strict restrictions. Therefore, this
destination is not meant to have a mass tourism but operates with highlighting the nature of the
place through nature based tourism. It includes having ecotourism, wildlife tourism and the
nature retreats. The destination of Maldives is not preserved from the human developments and
the local people of the island are dedicated to protect the wondrous beauty of the island. The
ecotourism of Maldives encourages the tourists to make more use of local services when visiting
the island. Tourism is the major income generator for the population living in Maldives.
Therefore, this destination has chosen eco friendly and locally sponsored activities. The hotel of
the place exhibit Maldivian culture. The accommodation in the place is self sustained where the
hotel generate their own electricity and water supply. sewage is not treated by handled in their
own way. The ecotourism of Maldives guarantees the availability of beauty of islands for
unlimited number of generations. This destination has many activities which are eco friendly as
well as defines the culture of the place. These popular activities includes scuba diving, deep sea
diving, deep sea fishing, snorkelling and windsurfing. There are different laws to prevent the
capturing of endangered species however, tourists are promoted to observe them. The local
people of Maldives are very friendly and believes in preserving their culture. Tourism activities
are growing in the world as there is so much to experience and see. Visiting a different location
is the best way to learn about the cultures and language of the country. The tourism is Maldives
is rich in culture. Tourist can see the skeleton of the rare long man beaked whale at the national
museum. This museum is used to preserve the history of Maldives. There are many religious
structures built from the crushed coral. Tourists will appreciate the calligraphy running on the
walls of Grand Friday Mosque. there are many activities in Maldives which makes the tourists
experience the culture of the island.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that tourism industry is the most growing industry in today’s world.
This report deals with the different theoretical perspectives and the position in the tourism along
with the contemporary society. The example of Maldives is used to find out about the working
and models of tourism. The industry of hospitality and international tourism has helps the
economy of the country reach high levels when compared to other industries. There is a detailed
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discussion about the concepts and issues related to the experiences of the tourist. Reflection is
important to understand the experience and help in developing personal self. All the factors make
the valuable elements in the process of learning.
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