“The videos made public show the council president going to the Dhigurah beach and trying to force them off the island without showing any respect to the tourists,” Vaguthu reported, prompting the local government minister to promise an inquiry into the “unfortunate incident”. 

The incident involved a Maafushi guesthouse sending tourists to the renowned five-kilometre beach at the southern tip of Alif Dhaal Dhigurah. The speedboat that brought the tourists directly dropped them off at the beach, without seeking permission or paying a fee imposed by the council for disembarking at alternate entry points instead of docking at the harbour.  

The uncomfortable encounter exposed the growing tension between tourism operators and the efforts of island councils to manage their resources. The simple media narrative obscured deeper questions of jurisdiction – who should control and reap the benefits of the country’s famed beaches – and the complicated balancing act of protecting local customs and generating revenue while remaining welcoming to visitors. 

“Times have changed. It's not a problem to charge for a service. Some councils are advancing forward. I must salute Dhigurah council for what they have done,” Ibrahim Shammoon, president of the Laamu Hithadhoo council, told the Maldives Independent.

But Shammoon could not condone confronting tourists, which “should be the last resort,” advising instead to deal with tourist establishments or to set up signboards with clear visual information on complying with local laws and norms.  

Guesthouse operators from Maafushi – an island in the neighbouring Kaafu atoll famous for pioneering local tourism – have strongly opposed levying a fee for “day trips” or entering inhabited islands. As the Maldives is a tourism-dependent nation that offers free on-arrival visas to all nationalities, any tourist or citizen “should have the right to get on a speedboat with their own freedom, go to any island they want, disembark, and swim in the waters of that island," Ahmed Waheed, the vice president of the Guesthouse Association, told Vaguthu, condemning the “unacceptable” fee and actions of the council president.

Afshan Latheef, the former chair of the Local Government Authority, which coordinates between councils and the central government in Malé, agreed with Shammoon.

“It might be an unpopular opinion but I believe when businesses profit from the resources of an island the community should gain from it,” she told the Maldives Independent. 

“There are not many avenues for local councils to get revenue, so it is justifiable for councils to impose a charge or fee. In this case I have more of an issue with the manner of implementation. Councils should impose such fees after consultation with local businesses and the community and with procedures in place to ensure it can be implemented. It should not result in the council president confronting tourists, and drawing negative attention to the island's community and local businesses.” 

In a press release issued in its defence last week, the Dhigurah council accused Vaguthu of bringing it into disrepute with "false" allegations and asserted jurisdiction over all activity inside the island’s legal boundaries.  

“We have established rules to protect the religion, culture, and customs, and to maintain cleanliness of places,” the statement read, defending the fees as necessary to cover significant maintenance costs for one of the longest stretches of beach in the country. 

Heaps of floating garbage and resort waste within the atoll washes ashore on Dhigurah, which literally translates to “long island.”

“Waste management is our biggest annual expense,” Council President Ibrahim Usman explained to the Maldives Independent. The council employs 15 employees for cleaning in addition to eight staff at the waste management centre and two outsourced staff to clean the beach, he added.

Shammoon, the Hithadhoo council's president, sympathised with the waste management struggle. Such services should not be expected “free of charge by councils to help the private businesses,” he suggested.

“It is impossible to regulate and manage an area without an expense. Dhigurah beach would not be as nice and clean if the council did not clean it. It’s clean because there’s someone (employed) to clean it.”

Enforcing respect for local sensitivities poses a different challenge for inhabited islands with booming guesthouse businesses. 

“Tourists wearing revealing clothing in various areas of the island is a serious concern and source of disapproval for Dhigurah residents…We make no exceptions for tourists visiting guesthouses in Dhigurah for vacations,” the council's statement noted. 

The incident last week involved a Shadow Palm speedboat dropping off tourists at a popular swimming area without permission, the council statement clarified. 

The council members simply advised the tourists that bikinis were not permitted on inhabited islands under Maldivian law, the council insisted. But their efforts were misrepresented in the photos and videos circulated online, it added. 

The council expressed frustration with boat crews who drop tourists at the beach and leave to avoid communication, which forces officials to address tourists directly. Despite the controversy, the council assured that Dhigurah "warmly welcome both Maldivian and foreign tourists" but remained committed to local rules and societal norms. 

Speedboats that used to rest in Dhigurah after spending the day looking for whalesharks have stopped going since the incident, according to an excursion guide from Maafushi who spoke to the Maldives Independent on the condition of anonymity. 

He blamed the council for failing to officially communicate the new rules through email or other official channels. The management of excursion centres should have been informed instead of the captain and crew who transport tourists, he said.

“The way I see it, it was very badly managed. They want to enforce it, I understand they want the money. I think they got too worked up with the idea and they got too crazy too fast. It wasn’t communicated, it just happened,” he suggested. 

He criticised similar practices from other island councils. Vaavu Fulidhoo, for example, has been charging a fee to watch stingrays at the beach.

“There’s a queue there but there’s no seating arrangement, there’s no facilities for the tourists apart from this one very bad toilet, so where does the money go, what’s the whole point? If some people are paying a fee to have an excursion or have an experience, you at least need to develop that further.”

On February 13, the Dhigurah council reminded people from other islands to seek a permit and pay MVR 15 for using the sandbank beach and having picnics on the island. On the same day, the council issued a reminder to Dhigurah guesthouse operators to obtain a permit with a fee of US$ 1 per person to organise lunch and dinner events at other beaches. 

Guesthouses from other islands are charged US$ 3 per tourist to use the beach and sandbank. For safari boats, the rate is US$ 5 per tourist if they have barbecues. The council fee for using the sandbank covers tables and chairs and other services. 

But the prohibition on approaching entry points other than the harbour sought to address safety concerns as well. It was made in watersports rules enacted in January to prevent potential accidents that could occur with speedboat propellers.  

While the council is able to convey information on the policy designating watersports areas to vessels that dock at the harbour, “if they come to different areas, it is hard for us to give that information,” Usman said.

“There are a lot of people using the beach and swimming areas, even now we have over 600 to 700 tourists. All of them can use different areas of the beach, locals, children and families also use the beach for swimming, so we don’t know which area would be the swimming area – you can go out from anywhere on this island and go swimming,” the council president said. 

“Speedboats can also enter, because it's not that rocky. So, if an accident happens it would be a big issue for us. Very recently also, there was that incident with the whale shark [in the atoll].”

For vessels that come through the harbour, “the rules are the same as any inhabited island,” he stressed. 

“But if you are going to thundi [sandbank] through the island, you have to call and inform us before using it. We’ve done this to make it easier for waste management too, the guesthouses in this island also pay to help manage waste so we believe visiting tourists and operators must also participate.”