Mohamed Umar Maniku, chairman of Universal Enterprises Pvt Ltd, gives Phin Foster the background to the success of the Maldives, and outlines his hopes for the islands' future development.
Can you give a little background to Universal's activities in the Maldives?
We commenced tourism into the Maldives with the opening of Kurumba Maldives resort in 1972. Now, our core activities are resort development and management, making equity partnerships with leading multinationals like Starwood and W-Hotels. We now have over thirty years' experience in the tourism industry, have started a luxury resorts division, Per Aquum Resorts & Spas, and currently employ over 3,000 people across our companies.
Why do you think nobody had tapped into the potential of the Maldives prior to Universal?
We were not the only ones to realise the potential of the destination. However, at the time, the tourism industry was not developed and therefore others were unable to reach the right audience. A turning point was when Kurumba was redeveloped into a world-class hotel back in 1987. This put the Maldives on the map and it was finally given recognition as a premium destination. Prior to that, the Maldives was seen as a low-grade destination, an extension of Sri Lanka.
What effect has the boom in tourism had on the country as a whole?
Prior to tourism, GDP was $2.5 million. Now, per capita income is over $3,000 - the highest in south Asia. That tells the whole story.
Are you confident for the future?
The future of the industry depends on the direction the government takes. It can either ruin itself or take it to greater heights. Being a small country, the lack of resources, finance and manpower is a huge problem. Unless the right decisions are made at the political level the future may look very bleak. Environmental problems will also have a great effect on the future of tourism.
I hope that the younger generation will rise to the challenges. The industry in the Maldives was built by local Maldivians, unlike in other countries, and they did it despite expert advice in the 1970's that tourism was not feasible here.
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 Mohamed Umar Maniku
Mohamed Umar Maniku is the chairman of Universal Enterprises Pvt Ltd, a leading hotel and tourism company in the Maldives. Universal owns and manages ten resort properties in the Maldives and has a diverse portfolio of tourism-related and other businesses. He is also a founder member of the Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) and served the Chamber as president. He is chairman of the national domestic airline, Island Aviation Services (IAS). |
What is Universal doing in the face of growing competition?
Over the last three years, we have invested more than $150 million in various new projects to rebuild our resorts to a higher standard. There have been joint venture partnerships with leading players - W and Starwood group, for example - and expansion overseas into countries such as the Seychelles and Sri Lanka. Per Aquum - our management company with spa operations - is catering to the luxury end of the market.
Kurumba would have to be my favourite resort in the region. This was where I first stepped into the hospitality industry. It is a place where a lot of revolutionary changes in the tourism industry first happened and is an icon here in the Maldives.
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