Maldives

Maldives - Is officially known as the Republic of Maldives. Maldives, is an Asian island nation consisting of a small islands stretching south of India's Lakshadweep islands about seven hundred kilometres (435 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka in the Laccadive Sea of Indian Ocean.
The Maldives was long a sultanate, first under Dutch and then under British protection. It became a republic in 1968, three years after it's independence. With its 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200 inhabited islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); archipelago with strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean it makes a tourists paradise. The development of tourism has fostered the overall growth of the country's economy. It has created direct and indirect employment and income generation opportunities in other related industries. The first tourist resorts were opened in 1972 with Bandos island resort and Kurumba Village. Tourism contributes more than 20% of the Gross domestic product of Maldives.