Comprehension: Culture War as the Maldives Opens Up To Backpackers

The Maldives is one of the world's most exclusive holiday destinations but it has quietly opened up to backpackers in the last five years with a reform that has upset religious hardliners. 

Watch the video and answer the questions below.  Decide if the statements are True or False.

1. The Maldives had their first democratic elections five years ago.
a. True
b. False

2. Reforms in the law to allow Maldivians to open up guest houses to foreigners were introduced a decade ago.
a. True
b. False

3. Travelling around the Maldives is cheaper if you’re a backpacker.
a. True
b. False

For transcript and answers see below.

Transcript and Answers:

Famed for its luxury resorts on private tropical islands, the Maldives is a place where the well heeled get away.   From honeymooners to sun-worshippers, the country has carved a niche in the high-end tourism market.  But in recent years it’s been opening up to backpackers, visitors with less cash to spend who want a different kind of holiday.

"I think that the most important thing is that you get in touch with the locals.  I’ve stayed here in Male now for three nights or four days and I’ve already met quite some people and made some friends so I think that’s just the biggest, biggest win."

For decades a deliberate policy kept wealthy holidaymakers separate from the local Muslim population.  It was an attempt to protect the conservative Maldivian culture from tourists' more liberal Western lifestyle.  But five years ago, despite opposition from religious hardliners, the first democratically-elected government introduced reforms allowing Maldivians to open guest houses to foreigners.

"If you are saying that tourists should be in a remote island and the locals should be separate in order to prevent the culture and belief and everything, I don’t think it’s going to work. Thing is that we see everything from TV, from travelling, everywhere. So I think it’s a lame excuse shown by the politicians and businessmen to control the economy."

Ibrahim opened his doors to guests one month ago.  He charges just 30 dollars for a double room, a fraction of the price charged at the cheapest island resorts.  As locals take a share in the country’s tourism industry, the government insists the established resort sector will not suffer.

"These tourists who come and stay in the guesthouses they do go to the resorts in the evening to enjoy a resort meal and experience a resort as well in the night-time so they’re not, what you call, taking tourists away from the resorts but they are complimenting, I would say, rather than taking away tourists from the resort side."

But travel around the nation's far-flung islands isn’t cheap.  With few public ferries, Chris expects to spend several hundred dollars on transport alone.  Tourists can now enjoy the freedom of backpacking here, but they'll need much more than a shoestring budget to get the most out of the Maldives.

Answers:
1. a
2. b
3. b

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