You joined the airport team in 2014. What are your biggest accomplishments so far and your main priorities going into the future?

We welcomed SriLankan Airlines as the first scheduled international carrier in December 2016, connecting Gan to international destinations via Colombo. We also opened our gateway to the world, providing an international transport node for the resorts and islands in the two largest atolls in the southern Maldives, Gaafu Dhaalu and Gaafu Alifu, via domestic connections. We have the national carrier Maldivian and sea plane hub operated by the world's largest seaplane operator, Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA), operating at our airport. The aim is to make the travel experience a truly pleasant journey to be remembered with the shortest transfer time to people's dream holiday island. Addu City is the second most populated urban area in the Maldives, and our vision is to encourage additional airlines to schedule routes through Gan International Airport. We are however, presently challenged by the limited guest capacity in this region, which we estimate should reach at least 6,000 to encourage more airlines to operate. The government has announced the development of an additional 3,000 beds through its Integrated Tourism Development Project, which, coupled with existing capacity, would yield increased traffic through the southern region.


What international connections does the airport currently have?

Maldivian operates seven daily domestic flights to Gan, as well as seasonal international flights from India and China. During the past three years we have had winter scheduled carriers direct from Denmark via Dubai and we cater to the private jet market all year round. Presently SriLankan Airlines operates five scheduled international flights a week connecting inbound and outbound travel through Gan via Colombo to prime destinations in India, the Middle East, China and elsewhere. We are maintain a constant dialogue with airlines and operators regarding the potential to increase flights.


What experience do GCC travellers coming from Dubai or Riyadh get on arriving at one of the final destinations?

For an island nation like ourselves, connectivity is key to getting the guest experience right. The Maldives is known as a premium tourism destination, and the resort properties located across the South are operated by renowned high-end brands, such as Jumeirah, with more resorts being developed. This affluent clientele will typically arrive at Malé International Airport for an onward domestic connection, and seaplane transfers to Gan save on transfer time while offering a unique low-flying experience. Flying on board a seaplane in the Maldives is one of the many ultimate gifts that the destination has to offer and an experience everyone should have once in their lifetime.

What would be your pitch to the Gulf traveller looking to holiday in the southern Maldives? Why here more than anywhere else in the world?

It is hard to do the region justice and every atoll here is unique. I can tell you that as you travel southwards across the endless blue ocean, suddenly you catch sight of three pearls dropped in the ocean, a unique breath-taking experience as you come across the Huvadhu, Fuvahmulah and the Addu atolls. Huvadhu is prized for its famous dive sites and beautiful unspoilt beaches, uninhabited islands full of exotic marine life, including dolphins, manta rays and turtles. Fuvahmulah is famous for its white pebbled beach which shines in the moonlight. And Addu Atoll is a long strip of islands connected by causeways stretching over 18km of verdant land with mangroves inhabited by white terns, a bird native only to the south.


What makes this an ideal destination for Muslim travellers?

The Maldives is a Muslim country with Islam as its official state religion. All resorts cater to Muslim visitors and offers Halal tourism. All properties located in the south offer Muslim travellers the privacy they require, including private spa treatment rooms with designated male and female therapists and even facilities within the villas and their private pools. This gives the visitors the freedom to enjoy all amenities within the privacy of their villa.

Will you be looking to welcome international investors?

Certainly, with the upgrade project behind us, we have exhausted our own capacity to invest equity capital until the project starts to yield returns from additional traffic. Gan Island has an abundance of land, so I would tell investors that this is a great chance to seek excellent returns from the hotel project and the cruise terminal. We have varied investment opportunities available with mutually beneficial terms. We have been approached by several tour operators and we are in talks with investors to make the Gan Resort project a reality. Once this project is completed, it will be the first of its kind in the Country. The island used to have an 18-hole golf course inherited from the Royal Airforce presence in the Maldives. We would welcome investors who are interested in bringing this facility back to viability.


Are you looking to position Gan as a venue for corporate retreats?

Most certainly. This November we are ready to welcome the International South Asian Travel Awards at Equator Village in Gan. Our resort project includes a convention Centre for corporate and social meetings to cater to over 300 guests. There are already two hotel properties on Gan Island, plus the Shangri-La and Canareef resorts, which are within 10 minutes by boat from the airport. They are both ideal locations to host corporate retreats in the paradise on earth that is the Maldive Islands.

What would be your pitch to investors from the GCC? Why invest in this project as opposed to others?

The island has been leased to a public-private partnership to upgrade, rehabilitate and develop the airport and facilities on Gan. What is unique is the ample land available for future development and the strategic mindset of the key promoters in the company, welcoming mutually beneficial business investment to bring increased prosperity. This is your opportunity to invest in the International Gateway to the Southern Hemisphere of the Maldives; that is our unique selling point.


There has been a bottleneck at Malé airport in recent years – more and more visitors want to travel to the Maldives, but the airport does not have the capacity to accommodate them. Now, as part of the government's plan, it is getting ready to accommodate seven times more visitors than it has previously welcomed. How will that impact the brand of the Maldives as a tourist destination?

The Maldives is unique in the range of travel propositions it offers visitors, from mid-market to the high-end one-island, one-resort exclusive concept. In recent years it has also seen growth in affordable guest house tourism, contributing to an increase in the number of visitors. More international hotel chains have entered the country, and this is a sure sign that the distinctive markets are well segregated and that demand for each brand segment can be maintained. The plans to achieve seven times the number of existing visitors is indeed a very ambitious project, but it is achievable considering the additional infrastructure development projects you see everywhere you look and the speedy progress of the Malé International Airport project itself. There is no doubt that we are headed in the right direction with a capacity increase alongside a notable demand increase in segregated markets.


What opportunities are there for Maldivian women to reach leadership positions as you have done?

The Maldives is a leader when it comes to female empowerment. If you look at every corporate entity here, you will find a good mix of women and men at the front line or in top management. Under the government's vision, corporate boards need to have a mandatory 33% of female representation. When state policies are set in the right strategic direction, women's progress is only limited by the ambitions they set for themselves. We are only limited by what we think we are capable of. It is my firm belief that being a woman places no limitation on you working at the top end of the corporate sector. Maldivian women are resilient, ambitious and highly educated, and there's potential for them to rank alongside men.