Affordable luxury in the Maldives

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Boodai: Jazeera Airways offers affordable flights to the Maldives, with prices starting from AED 249 (US $68) each way.

The Maldives has long been deemed a pricey destination by Middle East travellers seeking an idyllic beach holiday. Until now, flights to Male had been limited and jam packed, pushing up prices, while tour operators in the region had offered top end resorts at somewhat exorbitant prices.

But Kuwait-based low cost carrier Jazeera Airways is about to change all that by launching a twice-weekly service from Dubai to Male.

To kick-start its sales drive, the carrier invited a group of agents, tour operators and media from the UAE to travel with Jazeera Airways to the Maldives and to experience affordable luxury first hand.

On the outbound flight, Jazeera Airways chairman and CEO Marwan Boodai told ATN that the reasonably priced airfare, from AED 249 (US $68), as well as the four-and-a-half hour flying time from Dubai would be an attractive prospect to both Arabic Nationals and expatriates living in Dubai.

"We have leather seats, the biggest legroom in the industry - bigger than some of the legacy carriers even," he said.

The delegation stayed at several of the Maldives' 93 resorts, all of which are located on their own island thanks to the Maldivian government's ‘one island, one resort' policy.

Delegates had the chance to ask questions about what the Maldives has to offer their clients at a press conference at Kurumba Resort, a five-star property used for state visits and receptions, situated on an island near to the capital, Male.

Some of the agents highlighted the issues that might deter Arabic visitors from visiting the island paradise, including the lack of any significant nightlife outside of the resorts, or shopping facilities. But Deputy Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Abdul Hammed Zakariyya pointed out that the Maldives were a "unique destination" where people came to learn "the art of doing nothing" - the former marketing slogan for the Maldives Islands - and that it was the job of the the travel agents to explain this to their clients.

But the main concern that travel agents voiced was that customers booking travel to the Maldives - traditionally perceived as a top-end destination where the cheapest rooms often start from $300 per night in the high season - would not want to spare any expense and travel with a low cost carrier, particularly honeymoon couples, a claim that Boodai refuted.

"You cannot offer just one side of the menu; if you open a restaurant you have to give the whole menu to the customer," he said.

"Jazeera's low fares and optional extras give customers choice; the choice to spend more or less, and the freedom to spend more on their accommodation or other activities on their trip."

According to Boodai, Jazeera Airways' UAE GSA Dnata will start packaging Maldives properties with Jazeera Airways flights, despite the fact that its tour operating arm - Dnata Holidays - claims to target the "discerning traveller".

"Dnata [has] realised that if it wants to capture a bigger portion of the market it has to go for the whole spectrum," said Boodai.

"That is why they are now searching for a greater variety of resorts and more specific resorts - either sports focused, lower-cost or higher grade resorts - we have to give customers the freedom."

According to Boodai, Jazeera will soon introduce a hotel booking facility to its website on certain leisure destinations and high volume business travel destinations: "Jazeera is going to offer the freedom to the passengers; we don't want to force them to take certain packages, but to give them the choice to pick and choose," he explained.

"The more choice you give the passengers, the more appreciation you get from them. They can choose how much they want to pay."

Average occupancy levels in the Maldives for the January to July period reached 85.2%, but Zakariyya said that more than 80% of visitors to the islands were from European source markets and were charter flight and tour operator driven.

Travellers from the Middle East account for some 2% of visitors to the Maldives every year, but Zakariyya said this was mainly due to the limited accessibility from the region.

As such he welcomed the new Jazeera Airways service.

"What is important is the connectivity that Jazeera Airways provides to the Maldives from the region," he said.

"Until now, Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways have been the only carriers that fly here; Emirates with 12 flights per week and Qatar with five flights per week, but that is not sufficient. There are more people that want to come that have to wait for a seat to become available."

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