Guest House Association of Maldives have stated that even though a green tax is levied on tourists, unmanaged waste is still a huge challenge for guest houses.
Speaking at a ceremony held this morning to sign an MOU to insure guest houses with Amaana Takaaful, an official from the association said that even though the green tax is imposed to manage waste, so far nothing has been done to solve the problem.
They said that the surveys done last year shows that the biggest complain of the tourists is rubbish on the beach and in the sea. The official said that this has been proven from the surveys done by tourism ministry as well.
“We are handing over the green tax to the government. But so far nothing has been done to manage the problem. We are lobbying to solve this” said the official.
While a lot of waste is accumulated near the beaches, nothing concrete has been done to manage this problem. When tourists visit the beaches, no matter how beautiful the beach is, it is full of rubbish. Environment ministry states that they have established waste management centers in various islands of Maldives and by 2018 all islands of Maldives will have waste management facilities.
Even though green tax is levied, unmanaged waste is still a huge problem: Guest House Association
