Randy Shimabuku, general manager of the Four Seasons Resort
Maldives at Kuda Huraa, said informal discussions with the Maldives government indicate
the country could begin accepting private jets this month, and that commercial
flights could resume in July.
Maldivian officials, he said, are expected to make a formal
announcement on Monday.
“We are very hopeful,” he said in a Zoom press conference
Thursday morning.
Armando Kraenzlin, regional vice president and general
manager of the Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru, said the
unique geography of the nation, which is made up of a widely dispersed chain of
some 1,200 islands, has been conducive to protecting its population from the
pandemic.
Shimabuku says the resorts have created a safe bubble and
adopted new safety protocols to protect guests and staff, including the
brandwide initiatives being adopted under a new partnership between Four
Seasons and Johns Hopkins Medicine International.
While the Maldives are already known an abundance of sea and
bird life, Shimabuku said in the past few months he has seen a marked increase
in wildlife.
It’s almost like “the animals think the humans have left and
they are coming back to take over,” he said.