Tourism pioneer MU Manik admitted to ICU at Singapore hospital

Mohamed Umar ‘MU’ Manik, one of the pioneers of the Maldivian tourism industry, has been hospitalized at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, where he is being treated in the Intensive Care Unit.

Sun has been informed that MU Manik has been in the Mount Elizabeth Hospital for about a month, and is now being treated in the hospital’s ICU.

The chairman of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), MU Manik is recognized for his role in introducing tourism to the Maldives in the 1970s – at a time when the island nation did not even have an airport, just a small airfield on Hulhule’ island.

In 1972, Italian travel agent George Corbin and a junior employee from the Maldivian Embassy in Sri Lanka, Ahmed ‘Kerafa’ Naseem, began developing a plan to open a resort in Maldives. They were soon joined by MU Manik and Hussain ‘Champa’ Afeef. The quartet settled on Vihamanaafushi, due to its proximity with both Hulhule’ and Male’.

Corbin traveled to Singapore to purchase equipment for the resort, while Naseem, Afeef, and MU Manik worked on the construction.

The resort, which they named Kurumba Village, hosted its first batch of tourists on February 16, 1972; giving birth to an industry that revolutionized the Maldives, and continues to be its top money-maker.

During his tenure as chairman of Universal Enterprises, MU Manik is credited with playing a key role in bringing Germany’s Condor Airlines to the Maldives in the 1980s, a move that linked the Maldives with larger Europe.

He remains one of the Maldives’ biggest resort operators.

Outside of his work in the tourism industry, MU Manik served the state for over 19 years from 1971 to up until his retirement in 1990, serving in various positions at the Agriculture Ministry. He later served on the board of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), as the chairperson of Island Aviation Services, and as chairperson of Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), the latter of which he served up until January 2024.

MU Manik has received various national awards and accolades for his contributions to the Maldivian tourism industry. This includes the National Award of Recognition in 1982, and the National Award of Honor in 2002. He also received the Minivan 25 Public Service Award and the President’s Tourism Golden Award in 2022.

MU Manik is also known for his philanthropy. In 2004, he played a key role in supplying affected islands with clean water in the aftermath of a devastating tsunami.