Maldives hit by hundreds of holiday cancellations as state of emergency continues

It is supposed to be a paradise destination where the only turbulence is the occasional gust of wind rattling the palm trees. But the ongoing political turmoil which has shaken the Maldives in the last fortnight now seems to be hitting its holiday industry.

The state of emergency imposed by the authorities on February 5 - as part of an escalating political chasm between the president and key opposition figures - is now bearing bruised fruit in the form of cancelled bookings, travel warnings from foreign governments, and tourists deciding it might be better to stay away.

"We have had about 50 to 60 room cancellations per day, and the number is consistent since it started," a spokesperson for Paradise Island Resort-Villa Group - which runs a 282-room resort a 20-minute speedboat ride from the capital Malé - told Reuters. "This is the same for all of our properties in the country."