The beautiful Maldivian islands with their sparkling blue oceans, silvery beaches and amazing coral reefs have all the qualities of an ideal wedding destination.
Mr. Mohamed Nasheed, President, Republic of the Maldives is planning to revise the current regulations in the 100 per cent Muslim country to allow for non-Islamic marriages.
Allowing tourists to get married in the Maldives is seen as a sure fire way to boost tourism. In fact, Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad, Tourism Minister of the Maldives says that a survey conducted among honeymooners showed that many of them would have liked to get married on the island destination.
Many resorts offer ceremonial marriages but these have no legal implications. If introduced, Dr. Sawad says the option of marriage in the Maldives would be open to all tourists whether they were staying in resorts or guesthouses on inhabited islands. However, industry sources opine that though there is a high demand for allowing tourists to legally tie the knot in the Maldives, the subject is a sensitive one due to is religious implications.
Though the Maldives only offers high-end tourism at resorts separated from islands inhabited by locals, the government is looking to building guesthouses on inhabited islands or nearby uninhabited islands and introducing medium and budget options for visitors.
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