New airline set to boost Chinese tourism to the Maldives

(MEGA Maldives)

A new airline launched this month in tourism hotspot the Maldives is set to make access to the paradise archipelago easier for millions of potential visitors.

MEGA Maldives launched earlier this month with a new flight from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Malé International Airport, the islands' main entry point for foreign tourists.

This week, it confirmed that services to both Berlin and Hong Kong are now also active, with three weekly flights to each city offered with introductory fares from $1,050, promising that there is more to come.

A fourth route to Seoul, Korea is set to be inaugurated in September and the airline is in the process of adding another aircraft to its fleet.

MEGA Maldives is also currently looking to train more cabin crew and says that it envisions the Maldives becoming a 'hub' airport for rapidly-growing cross-Indian Ocean traffic.

That aim may be optimistic, but there is no doubt that the Maldives are experiencing something of a tourism boom, particularly among MEGA's primary market - tourist numbers from China were up over 50 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to 2010.

With its competitor Maldivian, it is also one of the few airlines to recently use the airport of Gan, in the south of the islands, promising that it plans to restart services soon.

Gan Airport has recently been upgraded ahead of a predicted rise in traffic as new resorts in the region open up.

http://megamaldivesair.com/