Cocogiri Island Resort, a new resort located in Vaavu atoll, is set to open its shores to guests on December 1.

Cocogiri is an exclusive, boutique resort featuring 20 overwater villas and 20 beach villas, ensuring the utmost tranquillity for guests. It’s the perfect setting for relaxation, exploration and rejuvenation.

Whether you choose to relax by the swimming pool, swim in the crystal blue ocean, sunbathe on the white sand beaches, or enjoy the serenity of Cocogiri’s spa and wellness centre, the resort promises to provide you an unmatched luxurious experience.

Enjoy your evenings watching the sunset whilst dining at the resort’s beach restaurant, which offers a wide range of international cuisine prepared by a highly experienced team of chefs. After a scrumptious dinner, head over to the bar to cool off.

For more adventurous guests, Cocogiri offers the opportunity to scuba dive or snorkel on one the most popular reefs in the Maldives, and get your adrenaline fix with the resort’s extensive water sports programme. Explore the surrounding islands and immerse yourself in the cultural beauty of the Maldives through daily excursions.

Cocogiri is your personal gateway to tropical paradise, accessible by a 12-minute seaplane flight or an hour-long speedboat ride from the Maldives main Velana International Airport.

The announcement comes amidst a shutdown of the Maldives lucrative tourism industry due to travel restrictions stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

All international airlines have suspended scheduled operations to the Maldives, as the island nation enforced a blanket suspension of on-arrival visa in late March in a bid to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Even before the visa suspension, the Maldives had closed its borders to arrivals from some of the worst-hit countries, including mainland China, Italy, Bangladesh, Iran, Spain, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Visitors from three regions of Germany (Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg), two regions of France (Île-de-France and Grand Est) and two regions of South Korea were also banned from entering the country.

All direct flights to and from China, Italy, South Korea and Iran were also cancelled.

Cruise ships and foreign yachts were also banned from docking at any of the country’s ports.

With arrival numbers falling and the visa suspension in effect, several resorts across the Maldives had been closed.

The coronavirus outbreak has hit the Maldivian economy hard, as travel restrictions and other preventive measures affect the country’s lucrative tourism industry, which contributes the bulk of the island nation’s state revenue and foreign reserves.

Before the pandemic, the government had been bullish about tourism prospects, targeting two million, high-spending holidaymakers this year after last year’s record 1.7 million.

However, tourist arrivals saw a year-over-year decline of 22.8 per cent in the first 10 days of March. Officials say the number of tourist arrivals to the Maldives could drop by half in 2020.

Tourism has been the bedrock of the Maldives’ economic success. The $5 billion-dollar economy grew by 6.7 per cent in 2018 with tourism generating 60 per cent of foreign income.

However, the government is at present projecting a possible 13 per cent economic contraction this year — an estimated $778 million hit.

Maldivian officials have been bullish on their ability to contain the coronavirus outbreak and reopen the country in the third quarter of the year.

The government has formulated five scenarios with possible timelines for reopening borders and the tourism sector.

The best case scenario sees the country reopen borders by May, but the most likely scenario projects a July date for reopening the borders and restarting tourism in October. In the worst case, borders may only open by January 2021.

On March 8, Maldives reported its first cases of the novel coronavirus, as two hotel employees tested positive for Covid-19 at a luxury resort in the archipelago.

Eighteen more cases — all foreigners working or staying resorts and liveaboard vessels except five Maldivians who had returned from abroad — were later identified.

A six-case cluster of locals, detected in capital Male on April 15, confirmed community transmission of the coronavirus. Several more clusters have since been identified, bringing the total number of confirmed case in the Maldives to 982.

Four deaths have been reported and 46 have made full recoveries.

The Maldives announced a state of public health emergency on March 12, the first such declaration under a recent public health protection law.

The public health emergency declaration has allowed the government to introduce a series of unprecedented restrictive and social distancing measures, including stay-at-home orders in capital Male and its suburbs, a ban on inter-island transport and public gatherings across the country, and a nationwide closing of government offices, schools, colleges and universities.

Non-essential services and public places in the capital such as gyms, cinemas and parks have also been shut.

Restaurants and cafes in the capital have been asked to stop dine-in service and switch to takeaway and delivery.

A nationwide shutdown of all guesthouses, city hotels and spa facilities located on inhabited islands is also in effect.