Tourism pioneer Mohamed Umar ‘MU’ Maniku has been elected as the chairman of Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) for another term.
MU Maniku, who leads Universal Enterprises, one of the largest conglomerates in the Maldives, was re-elected at the 29th annual general meeting of MATI held at Kurumba Maldives resort on Monday. He has been serving as the chairman of the association for over 30 years.
At the annual gathering, which was attended by 74 members, 15 board members also retained their positions.
Tourism pioneer Hussein ‘Champa’ Afeef and Solah Shihab, who heads leading local travel company Voyages Maldives, were re-elected as the vice chairperson, whilst Ahmed Nazeer from leading local resort developer Crown Company was re-elected as the secretary general and Assad Ali from Driftwood Maldives as the deputy secretary general. Lily Hotels’ Ahmed Hafeez also defended the post of financial controller.
Other board members include Ahmed Siyam Mohamed and Zuleikha Manik from Sun Siyam Resorts, Neena Ahmed from Kaimoo Travels and Hotel Services, Visha Mahir and Iyaz Waheed from Universal Resorts, Ibrahim Noordeen from Crown Company, Ismail Shiyan Qasim and Ibrahim Siyad Qasim from Villa Hotels, and Moosa Solih from Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL).
As a non-profit established since the introduction of tourism in Maldives, MATI has been at the forefront of almost all travel and tourism related activities and issues in the Maldives for the past three decades. The association coordinates with government and liaise with organisations locally and internationally to solidify member’s services and operations in the tourism sector.
MATI raises its concerns over government policies for the betterment of its members as well as the tourism industry as a whole. The association represents the industry and its employees internationally and locally by attending different seminars, organising and providing research and professional consultation to relevant bodies.
Photo: Mihaaru