New Delhi, May 25 -- Exquisite white sandy beaches, turquoise blue sea, beautiful reefs, incredible underwater marine life, and other recreational pursuits like scuba diving, snorkeling, and surfing - the Maldives, the Indian Ocean paradise, offered all this and more. But this high-end tourism-dependent island nation has taken a big economic hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. And the road to recovery looks very hard, at least for its tourism sector.

The idyllic archipelago was once considered a prime luxury holiday destination, particularly popular among global wealthy. It was just last year in 2019 that it attracted a record 1.7 million tourists. And encouraged by the massive influx of holidaymakers, the country of just over 500,000 people...