Indians give bad reviews to Maldives resorts; attack websites
Some Indians who have spent happy holidays in Maldives have said they do not want to come to Maldives until the fire between Maldives and India is extinguished.
By
Aishath Fareeha Abdulla
With tensions between India and Maldives, Indians have stepped up their social media campaign calling for a boycott of Maldivian tourism, downgrading the ratings of Maldivian resorts and commenting on Google and booking websites.
Last Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a video on his recent visit to Lakshadweep to promote tourism in the region.
Meanwhile, some Indians said that Modi's video was released to tell people that Indians do not have to go to Maldives for vacation and that they can experience the beauty of Maldives while staying in their own country.
Reposting Modi's video, an Indian social media activist called Maldives a "puppet country of China". Some Maldivian political activists in X responded to these remarks saying that the video is a challenge to Maldivian tourism.
The issue has come to a breaking point, and some Indian public and celebrities have launched a campaign calling for their people not to come to Maldives for holidays. Thus:
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Some of Bollywood’s A-list stars have said they don’t want to come to a country of people who don’t respect their country
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A social media campaign has been launched to encourage people to go on holiday to Lakshadweep
Stepping up their campaign calling for a boycott of Maldives, some members of the Indian public are rating Maldivian resorts poorly, saying they offer poor services and that Maldives is not a popular destination for tourists.
Some people have edited their previous reviews and said they do not want to come to Maldives because of the current situation.
Some Indians who have spent happy holidays in Maldives have said they do not want to come to Maldives until the fire between Maldives and India is extinguished.
The rating of high-end resorts has been reduced to 'one star', while the rating given by guests is one of the factors that will determine the decision of tourists to visit resorts in the future.
Resorts have been given low ratings and low reviews, while some resort websites in Maldives have been targeted by cyber attacks since Sunday.
Such attacks on resort websites have come a day after cyber attacks on the President's Office, Foreign Ministry and Tourism Ministry websites.
