Aishath Thashkeel, Ali Najeeb and Byju Koreth Puthanveettil Madhavan

Abstract: This paper is about an incident in which a Swiss couple who purchased a wedding renewal package at Vilu Reef Beach and Spa Resort in the Maldives, where they were holidaying, was vilified with abusive and abhorrent language with religious bigotry and sexual profanity. A video on this incident was uploaded to YouTube on October 24, 2010. The 15-minute video depicted a horrendous incident where the couple received a cascade of heinous abuse and derogatory humiliation. The celebrant briefed the couple in English that the ceremony would be conducted in the local language Dhivehi and in Arabic according to Islamic norms. However, he took advantage of the language barrier and went on a rant of profanity-laced insults, with religious slurs and sexual obscenities. As the video went viral, the local and international pressure was mounting on the Maldives government, and the image of Maldives as a “tranquil heaven on earth premium honeymoon destination” became increasingly tarnished. Why did the negative tourism event have minimal impact on tourist arrivals? Were the actions taken by the local stakeholders adequate? What different actions could the key stakeholders take to ensure that such incidents do not repeat in the future?

Keywords: Crisis management, destination marketing, nation brand image, negative tourism incident, services marketingurism, economic impact, impa