A photo of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a beach has led to calls for a boycott of Indian tourism in the Maldives.

(CNN) — The Maldives faces a boycott by one of its biggest sources of tourism revenue after three of its officials mocked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling on Indian citizens and celebrities to avoid fleeing to this sun-soaked paradise and instead go national. tried. Beaches in India.

Controversy arose after Modi posted pictures on social platforms

Modi didn’t mention India’s scenic neighbor, the Maldives, in his post, but his impressive praise of the lesser-known archipelago’s scenic beauty could be seen as an attractive tactic to lure people to vacation there instead of the Maldives.

Three Maldivian officials responded to his post, describing Modi as a “clown”, “terrorist” and “puppet of Israel”.

The Maldivian government moved quickly to distance itself from his comments by suspending three officials (deputy ministers of the Ministry of Youth Employment, Information and the Arts), a senior Maldivian official told Reuters on Sunday.

In a statement, the Maldivian government said it was aware of the “offensive” comments made on social media, but stressed that “views are personal” and did not represent its views.

“The government believes that freedom of expression should be exercised in a democratic and responsible manner, and in a manner that does not spread hatred, negativity and does not hinder the close relations between the Maldives and its international partners,” he said.

The incident comes at a sensitive time, as Maldivian President Mohamed Muizu is on a five-day visit to China, his first visit as president since his election victory last October.

Muizu is known for its pro-China stance and has pledged to end its predecessor’s “India first” policy in a region where New Delhi and Beijing compete for influence.

During the trip, he is expected to meet with Chinese officials and sign “major agreements to enhance trade, professional and socio-economic development,” a government statement said.

But while Muizu would be interested in closer ties with Beijing, the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago – home to about half a million people – cannot afford to distance itself from its nearest neighbour.

Maldives relies heavily on tourism and a large portion of that revenue comes from India; Last year, the world’s most populous country accounted for the largest group of tourists visiting its tropical beaches, according to Maldives’ tourism website.

Indian tourists made more than 209,000 trips to the Maldives in 2023, accounting for 11% of its tourism market, figures released last week showed. Russia contributed about the same amount, and China was not far behind, providing 187,118 views, or 10% of the total.

But the officials’ comments angered some Indian tourists, who posted screenshots on social media to show they had canceled their trips to the island chain under the hashtag #BoycottMaldives.

Prominent figures, from Bollywood actors to cricketers, also urged fans to head to local destinations with another hashtag #ChaloLakshadweep, meaning “Let’s go to Lakshadweep,” where Modi visited, gaining traction.

Among them was Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, known for acting in patriotic films. He called the comments by Maldivian officials “hateful and racist”.

“We are good to our neighbors but why should we bear such unprovoked hatred? I have visited Maldives many times and always admired them, but pride first. Let us decide to #ExploreIndianIslands and support our own tourism.” ,” he said.

Indian travel site EaseMyTrip on Monday said it has suspended flight bookings to the Maldives.

“In solidarity with our nation, @EaseMyTrip has suspended all flight bookings to Maldives,” Nishant Pitti, CEO and co-founder of EaseMyTrip, said in a post on X.

In a post on

A source told CNN on Monday that the Indian High Commission in the Maldives had “strongly represented and expressed its concerns” to the Maldivian foreign ministry.

Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, said the swift action of the Maldivian government to suspend officials and condemn their comments shows how much it values ​​relations with India.

“This controversy that has developed in recent days suggests that there will be some challenges ahead, but I would say that at the end of the day the new leadership in the Maldives does not want to risk losing ties with India,” he said.

“I would say that this Maldivian government will want to balance its relations with both India and China.”