Being a small archipelago nation with every island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, income derived from water based activities is undeniably the soul of the Maldivian Tourism experience. Hence, safety in conducting water based activities has become the responsibility & top priority of every individual relevant to the Maldivian Tourism Industry.

With the increase in fatal incidents involving swimming, snorkelling, and other water related sports/ activities in the country especially since the beginning of 2019, there is a need for concerted efforts in making the industry safer for everyone involved.

Therefore through this project, the Project Scope Government seeks to address the concerns of the increasing number of incidents related to water-based activities to ensure safety and explore effective safety and security strategies to reduce the number of incidents, thereby making safety for visitors and those employed in the industry the utmost priority of the industry.

In this regard, the Government aims to formulate water safety maps for inhabited islands, acquire equipment and materials required for lifeguard and rescue operations, and carry out water safety and lifeguard trainings. It seeks to do this through an initial selection of 19 inhabited islands within the first year with the remaining islands phased out for the next five years.