The Maldives tourism law has been amended to empower local councils to lease land under their jurisdiction for tourism purposes.
The president on Sunday (3 June) ratified amendments approved by parliament to the tourism law. According to the president’s office, the legal changes grants the authority to island, atoll and city councils “to determine the market value of land under their administrative jurisdiction in the most profitable way when being leased for tourism development.”
New provisions were also added “to determine the market value of shares of tourist facilities leased under joint ventures to ensure the interests of all stakeholders in the event of a buyback or sale of shares.”
The tourism ministry is mandated with drafting and publishing all necessary regulations required by the amendment within six months. The ministry will have a twelve-month period to revise the lease agreements of all tourism facilities in accordance with the changes.
The duration of existing lease agreements of tourist facilities will remain unchanged.
