Honeymooners from Kerala ignore political hiccups to stream into Maldives
Even though Maldives has been embroiled in political turmoil for a long time, it's becoming a tourist destination of choice for honeymooners from Kerala. Located in the Arabian Sea and spread over 298 square kilometres, it is the smallest Asian country by both land area and population, with only a little over 390,000 people. " Maldives has started gaining huge acceptance as a honeymoon destination due to the quietness and tranquillity of its beaches and, above all, the air connectivity -- with daily flights from Thiruvananthapuram," said Raphael Devaraj, an official of the Maldivian, the national carrier of Maldives. In 1972, there were two tourism resorts in Maldives. Today, there are over a hundred, suiting budget tourists. It takes between 55 minutes and 80 minutes to reach Male from Thiruvananthapuram, depending on the aircraft and the fare ranges between Rs 11,000 and Rs 14,000. According to Vinay Balachandran, who works with a leading travel age...