Maldives Integrated Tourism Development Corporation (MITDC) is to hold a Q&A session about the integrated guesthouse island project of Baresdhoo on Monday.
In a statement, MITDC said the session would be held at the Hotel Jen in capital Male at 2pm.
According to MITDC, comprehensive information would be delivered about the project, followed by a Q&A session. Bid documents would also be available for purchase, it added.
“… MITDC invites interested investors to become a part of the first ever Laamu Integrated Guesthouse Project in Maldives,” the statement read.
MITDC has earlier opened bidding for the project.
A 35-room guesthouse is to be leased for USD 10,000 per month, while the monthly rent for a 60-room guesthouse is set at USD 18,000. Each of the two 100-bed hotels are to be rented out for USD 45,000 per month.
State tourism promotion company Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has earlier announced the sale of 16 land plots from Baresdhoo, which is the first ever integrated guesthouse development in the Maldives.
However, MITDC recently took over the project from MMPRC and changed it to a rental business model.
According to MITDC, the 75-hectare island of Baresdhoo in Laamu atoll will have restaurants, cafes, bars, a spa, a theme park, a theatre, a golf course, a botanical garden and a dive centre to support the guesthouses and hotels. Construction will begin this year and will be completed within 18 months, it said.
MMPRC has earlier built the island’s harbour and joined a small nearby island to Baresdhoo. A local company has also been contracted to build the road network of the island.
Government’s foray into guesthouse business comes amid a significant increase in the number of guesthouses across the archipelago. Some 300 guesthouses have started operations over the past five years as the number of travellers that choose to stay in guesthouses is on the rise.