Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir claims the government is trying to implement a significant alteration to the tourism dollar system without sufficient study or discussions with industry specialists.

Mauroof condemned the government's initiative mandating resorts to sell or deposit 40 percent of their US dollar earnings to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA). He stated that the policy was being expedited without a thorough evaluation of its economic effects.

Mauroof suggested that enhancing Maldivian involvement in the tourism sector is the best long-term answer to the dollar deficit. He pointed out that the government has acknowledged that transitioning to a digital economy would facilitate remote work for Maldivians in tourism jobs, many of which are presently occupied by foreigners in both resorts and off-site positions.

He mentioned that although substituting foreign workers with Maldivians won't entirely resolve the dollar issue, it is still one of the key structural reforms required.

“Mauroof stated that when the government implements abrupt changes without engaging the industry, the outcomes are not favorable.”

He noted that when the earlier mandate for mandatory dollar minting was implemented, industry specialists had cautioned that the problem would remain unresolved, and even though resorts adhered to the regulations, the dollar scarcity continued.

Mauroof expressed that the public needs to be worried about the dangers tied to raising the resort dollar-deposit requirement to 40 percent. He cautioned that the tourism sector might encounter a riskier scenario than the present one if the alteration is enacted without adequate research.