What Maldives Luxury Resorts Don't Want You to Know

if you have ever heard about the country  called the Maldives then most probably the picture in your head looks something like this - honeymoon suites and extreme luxury that comes with a heavy price tag. it's really no surprise that most of the world sees Maldives as this luxury Paradise literally millions of dollars are spent each year by the same resorts to maintain this reputation and this is exactly what they want you to think   yet this country is changing fast. the local  islands are gaining more popularity amongst visitors and in this video I want to show you the whole picture from the unique culture and nature of this land to ways how to spend 10 times  less money on exactly the same activities  and I just have to add that I have nothing against  Resorts if your travel budget allows you to spend thousands of dollars a day while laying on a beach then they're probably the best option for you but the whole point is to give you complete  information so that you would not be forced into decisions and price tags that are simply unfair but now let's start from the very beginning it all pretty much started five decades ago.  the year was 1972 And by the joint efforts of an Italian travel agent and a maldivian Pioneer the first luxury resort opened its doors   well and like they say the rest is history. the pristine ocean, beautiful beaches and never changing warm temperature quickly became a huge hit all around the world and the country Maldives started to develop a reputation as the  dream holiday destination. in the following 51 years another 171 Resorts have opened their doors. it literally means that over the last five decades every year more than three islands have been turned into resorts and by now, nearly 15% of all Maldivian islands are only  for Rich tourists you might be thinking why is this a problem, tourism after all brings money to the country which benefits all its citizens   but there is a catch and it's also the first  thing that many resorts would rather not tell you most of those luxury establishments  are owned by big International companies   and so the huge amount of money that foreigners  spend here never make it to the local communities but to make it even worse, until the year 2008  this country had a rather closed off and well self-centered government. for example tourists  were not even allowed to stay in local Islands before that tourist could only go to the resorts  and only stay in Resort Islands pretty much to prevent new ideas from flowing into the society and so the tax dollars from the resorts only strengthened the government's grip over its people. yet by year 2008 maldivian locals had had enough.   this led to many changes in the society, first  Democratic elections were held and finally in 2009 for the first time this country  also allowed tourists on local Islands respect the locals! that meant the Boom in  maldivian economy hundreds of guest houses opened its doors. we just arrived in Dhigurah and we were given like cold wet towels, cold drink   I'm used to living in the car, thank you, I'm not  used to this. It's true luxury! thank you so much but for the resorts, it meant that for the first time in  almost 40 Years of operation they had competition   the systems they had built in decades were  designed to make as much money as possible   and suddenly there were others doing the  same thing for the fraction of the price   I'll give you an example, when you book a place  in the Maldives the first message you receive is about booking your transfer. yeah it happens every time, we just booked ourselves a hotel in the next Island over and like 15 minutes later there's a message offering us to organize the transfer but what's cool is that these guys  didn't only offer us the most expensive one   but they sent us a price list of three different  things a 20-minute seaplane ride to a resort can easily cost 200 dollars per person. I think it's Landing just over there. but did you know you can also get a one hour speed boat to the exact same place for about $25 or if you really want to cut costs then local Ferry Prices range from $1,5 - $4 per person but of course the local ferries are not quite as flexible  as the speed boats. guys if you would like to have more information about public transport and how to save money here on the Maldives then in the end of this video I will literally show you where  all of this information can be found but I hope that for now this point helped to show you that  after 2009 the resorts were in trouble   for the first time in 40 years they had to change tactics  and fight for their survival the way the resorts did it was a huge surprise to everyone. instead of lowering their prices to compete with the new local establishments they did the opposite and even increased their prices to fund the new advertising campaign as it turns out the plan worked  better than anyone would have hoped   hundreds of bloggers, YouTubers and Instagram  models were offered free stays in the resorts in exchange for advertising and enforcing the luxury image of this country moreover there are literally thousands of  travel agents all around the world who now receive big commissions every time they send the  tourists into one of those resorts the campaign has been such a success that even now after  15 years from the opening of the guest houses most people still have no idea that the trip to the Maldives does not have  to be this extremely expensive Resort holiday   ah that is so good and when we asked our local  friend Saeed about it this is what he told us   in foreign countries most of the people advertise  the tourism side of the country   so that means tourism in the Maldives is for celebrations or honeymoons   so they are very expensive. in the world everybody thinks that Maldives is a very expensive country But here in the Maldives, we have something for every budget rooms available from $40 - $50 000 per night   when continuing on Saeed's thoughts, the quality  and price of local islands and guest houses is definitely the next thing that resorts would rather not want you to know. it looks beautiful!   without joking the cheapest accommodation  for us so far was $24 for a deluxe double room   yeah I know it even sounded sketchy when we  were booking it I think our accommodation is a little bit different this time. it's  like a small house, like a small bungalow with a lot of windows. there's so  much light, it's really beautiful but hear me out! most of the guest house workers  here used to work with Resorts before and so the quality of service runs through the whole  industry. just incredible welcome once again just look at this. it almost feels like they don't know that luxury service is supposed to come together with a big price tag fresh coconut water delicious! for many times we booked the cheapest place on the island that we were staying on and the story was always the same. hello! how are you?   pretty good, I'm Joosep! we were picked  up from the local Ferry on the dock. Put your bag here. oh wow And there was always someone to help us with our bags. once in the guest house - ice towels. thank you brother! Shukriya! and complimentary drinks were just part of the service. it's really crazy how good the service was and it also shows online, most small hotels and guest houses have at least 9 out of 10 star score on booking websites   our bags are already in the room. like the  first time in my life this happens you want to do something? you go for it! and before coming here I didn't even know that 25 to 50 dollars a night could buy such luxury anywhere on our planet least of which in the Maldives   yet it does not end with our accommodation. just  hear what our Italian friend Chris had to say about it well it's a lot cheaper than than  expected. you know like from outside they make it seem like it can be crazy expensive. instead if you  come here especially on a low season and you talk directly to the agency, you will see that you can get everything a lot cheaper like today we got maybe a lifetime experience for really less than 100 euros so it's perfect!   and it was for two people for 100! crazy yeah  yeah really crazy! like we all agree on this you just need to come and see by yourself. here we were  talking about an eight hour tour we took together   it included lunch, some of the most  amazing experiences of our life   for example visiting Paradise Islands  and swimming with the sharks and all of this cost 50 dollars per person from a  local Island yeah this is the best 50 dollars I've ever spent. and I kid you not exactly the same thing booked from a resort would cost you anything between $200-$400 the thing we heard from many locals was clear. All the activites in the resorts are available in the local islands the only difference is only alcohol is not available on local islands Because our law says locals can't consume alcohol. here in the Maldives 90% of the  experience you're gonna get is the same the sea, activities, tours and even the local food  yet the difference in price tag can be enormous   I guess by now you're starting to understand  where this video is going I could spend another 10 minutes telling you how the same thing is happening with every other overpriced service from entertainment to food. but instead I would like to finish this video with something much more substantial. something that Resorts can never offer you   this is the unique local culture. over the last 2000 years maldivians have developed this beautiful way of life on some islands it manifests itself as a symbiosis between sea creatures (They are feasting!) and local fishermen   who have fed  their scraps to sharks and Rays for a millennia They are very soft. Hello, friends! On others, it's a mix of islamic tradition and stress-free Island lifestyle never ever in my life have I seen such an interesting combination before and it smells like the cleanest place on Earth just like fresh Apple soap smell. during our three-week stay in the  Maldives we had this incredible privilege of visiting 9 different islands on average  we spent 49 dollars per day per person and honestly I would never trade those experiences for  however luxurious The Villa over water would be   friends thank you so much for watching today's  video and I really hope that this short film gave you a better understanding of this country and hopefully will make your travels here cheaper and easier but just like I said during the video  I got good news for you if you would like to have more information about transport, budget and pretty much everything else that comes together with traveling the Maldives together with Liisu we have just finished putting together a budget travel guide for this country that will step by step show you how to have once in a lifetime   experiences here for just a fraction of the  cost. from how to choose the right Island for you to cheap tours and transportation. it's all  in the travel guide and to make it affordable for everybody we have decided to share it with you for only $15 a copy and I can literally promise you that it will save you hundreds if  you read it before coming here to the Maldives   if you want to know more check out the  description for more information and we will see you back on the channel next Thursday  in a little bit less than a week. take care!

Channel: Wild Viking Travels

Views: 781,692

Keywords: maldives, maldives resort, maldives resorts, maldives travel, travel maldives, maldives luxury resorts, how to travel maldives, maldives on a budget, maldives budget, budget travel, maldives vlog, the maldives, maldives budget guide, maldives travel guide, visit maldives, what to do on maldives, travel guide, must see maldives

Id: g1NTKqA0qvg

Length: 15min 31sec (931 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 27 2023