DTIS, Volume I - Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF)

the UNDP/World Bank vulnerability and poverty assessment survey found that
households with one or more members working in the tourism sector are more likely to
escape poverty thresholds than other households.
The large proportion of expatriate labour is mostly due to the unavailability of both local
skilled and unskilled labour. Training provided by the Maldives College of Higher
Education’s Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Studies (FHTS) in such areas as bar
tendering, catering and food services, cleaning and housekeeping, has not kept pace with
the demand of the industry. In addition, the higher wage rate for Maldivians is an
incentive to employers in the industry to fill the 50 per cent foreign employment quota
that is allowed. Consultations with tourism industry operators indicate that the base
salary for Bangladeshi and Indian workers is around USD 100 per month and USD 120
for Sri Lankan workers, in addition to free accommodation, food and a return air ticket.
Depending on skill level, Maldivian workers may be paid up to USD 235, as well as free
accommodation and food.
Despite its importance for the generation of job opportunities, very few women work in
the sector. According to available statistics, less than 200 Maldivian women, and only
about 350 expatriate women work in the sector in 2003. Considering that more than
20,000 employees work in the industry, the proportion of women workers is extremely
low. This is in sharp contrast to many other countries, where tourism generates high rates
of employment for women.
The explanation for this is both cultural and religious. It is still a taboo in the Maldives
for women to be involved in such activities as making beds outside the home or working
in a bar. But the lack of employment of women in the sector may also be attributed to the
special characteristic of Maldivian tourism with almost self-contained resort islands,
where workers live in staff accommodation for as many as 11 months of the year, without
facilities suitable for family life
TRAINING
The men dominated employment pattern is also reflected in FHTS enrolment numbers.
Although the proportion is increasing, women still account for less than a quarter of the
trainees.
The FHTS itself was established as a tourism-training institute in 1987 to provide basic
and advanced training in operational tourism skills as well as for supervisory and midmanagement
training.
Since its establishment, the Faculty has expanded the number of tourism related courses
on offer, and developed and upgraded course contents to international standards.
However, it has been under-funded both in terms of the capacity and quality of its
physical facilities and its teaching staff. As a result, the Faculty has not been in a position
to supply training to meet the increasing demand from a rapidly growing tourism sector,
even after the establishment of two outreach centres outside the capital, Male’. The total
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