Boycott Maldives! Now, Indian Chamber of Commerce bats for Lakshadweep, Andaman as tourist spots amid row

The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on Monday urged the nation's tourism and trade associations to stop promoting the Maldives amid a row that began with some ministers of the island nation making disparaging remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lakshadweep visit.

The chairman, as a 'patriotic Indian in the larger national interest' issued a statement, saying "This is in spite of the fact that Indians are one of the biggest sources of foreign exchange and creation of jobs in the Maldives. Please divert all such enquiries to Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands which are even better than Maldives in many ways, and other destinations which can be promoted in the Indian Ocean area are Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Bali, and Phuket."

The head of ICC continued, "I appeal to members of FHRAI and the Hotel Association of India to seriously look at investing in Lakshadweep islands as in the future it will give you better returns on your investment than Maldives. I have already asked STIC Travels to stop selling Maldives."

ICC press release.

Subhash Goyal, the head of the trade body, also urged Indian carriers operating there to suspend work and consider operating in Lakshadweep under the Udaan Scheme.

EaseMyTrip, an online travel company, announced the suspension of flight bookings to Maldives and MakeMyTrip, on Monday, reported a surge in searches for Lakshadweep on its platform, following Modi's two-day visit to the Union Territory off the coast of Kerala.

Several celebrities have also taken to social media to promote Lakshadweep with some vowing not to return to Maldives, over this row.

The traders' body CAIT on Monday, also called upon domestic traders and exporters to refrain from conducting business dealings with the island nation.

The diplomatic situation between India and Maldives has nosedived over the comments, with the Ministry of External Affairs summoning the island's envoy and the Maldives government also summoning the Indian envoy there.

The government of the island nation, however, has distanced itself from the remarks made by the ministers and has also suspended them.