Diplomatic World_69

YOOSUF RIFFATH
CEO, CAPITAL TRAVEL & TOURS
MY SUCCESS IS BASED ON HARD WORK,
COMMITMENT AND HONESTY
During a visit to the Maldives in March 2022, the Diplomatic
World team had the pleasure to sit down with Yoosuf Riffath, a
dynamic entrepreneur and leading figure in the Maldives tourism
industry, acting as the CEO of Capital Travel & Tours, which,
from its origins in 1990, has become one of the most prominent
and successful travel agents and tour operators in the Indian
Ocean nation, with a wide global network of tour operators and
clientele.
Mr Riffath talks to us about his humble beginnings and work
ethic which has propelled him to the top in the industry. “The
success is my hard work, commitment and honesty”, he says.
In the early 1980s, Mr. Riffath worked as a civil servant in the
Ministry of Education. He was then provided with the opportunity
to work in the budding tourism industry by Universal Enterprises.
Here, he underwent different trainings to get acquainted within
the industry, and ultimately worked within the Senior Managerial
Teams of varying resorts.
Afterwards, he came with the idea of setting up a travel company,
and this is how in 1990 Capital Travel & Tours was born, now
a leading company in the Maldives, and employing over 150 staff
members. Mr Riffath is always on the lookout for new markets,
attending 15 to 20 tourism fairs and exhibitions on a yearly basis:
the key expos such as World Travel Market (UK), Internationale
Tourismusbörse (ITB) Germany, Borza Internazionale de Turismo
(BIT) Milan and other similar events. Thanks to his efforts, he
has opened up the Maldives to new markets such as Spain,
China, Türkiye and the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS) countries – one of the most rapidly growing markets at
the moment.
The pandemic years were hard, but he went to great lengths
to ensure and explain to the tour operators that the Maldives,
thanks to its unique “one island, one resort” concept, is a safe
destination to visit. And the tourist numbers have indeed picked
up rapidly.
In addition, Mr Riffath founded in 2006 the Maldives Association
of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO), a platform for
local travel agents and tour operators to work together with the
resort operators to gain their confidence and help build the sector
by offering a unified front.
Mr Riffath is always at the forefront of efforts to develop and
promote the tourism industry. To this end, he is President and
founding member of the Association of Travel Agents (ATA);
chapter president for the Maldives at the American Society of
Travel Agents (ASTA) AND board director at the Maldives Marketing
& Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC).
Mr Riffath explains that the Maldives has come a long way in
the last 50 years. Today, the Maldives has 150 resorts with a
total of 55,000 beds. Four Seasons, Hilton, Sheraton and other
renowned brands have all gained a foothold in the market of the
Maldives. Mr Riffath says with pride that once they set up one
resort, only a few years will pass until they plan a second one,
as it is very profitable (and secure) business.
Looking to the future, he emphasises the need to diversify the
industry, so that the Maldives is affordable for all budgets. This
includes building more guest houses and homestays. Guest
houses were first introduced in 2008, and now there are 650 of
such accommodations totalling 6,000 beds. In guest houses and
homestays, Mr Riffath adds, one can enjoy the same weather,
the same sea, and sometimes even more beautiful lagoons than
the exclusive resorts. The image of the Maldives as an exclusive
destination for the ultra-rich should be a thing of the past.
Mr Riffath explains that there is plenty of room for growth, and
the country is actively looking for investors. “We still have over
1,500 islands to be invested and developed”, he illustrates. Infrastructure
is being improved, small domestic and international
airports are being constructed.
But, he concludes, the success of the Maldives is not primarily
due to the investors, but thanks the Maldivian people who have
worked tirelessly to put the Maldives on the world map and marketed
the country as the world leading destination it is today.
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