The Maldives has become the new haunt of Bollywood actors. From Katrina Kaif, Disha Patani, Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Aadar Jain, Varun Dhawan, Tapsee Pannu to Rakul Preet Singh, Angad Bedi and Neha Dhupia, Sonakshi Sinha, well the list is endless, all have visited the Indian Ocean paradise recently.

Blame it on the raging COVID-19 in India, which has lately seen an upsurge, the Maldives has become the favourite getaway destination for Bollywood stars looking for peace, solitude and some fun. Like everyone in the world, most of them were forced to stay at home due to the COVID-related lockdown, and were able to fly away when India lifted travel restrictions.

So naturally, Bollywood actors were the first ones to look for blowing away those blues by jetting off to the Maldives to sample those exquisite white sandy beaches, turquoise blue sea, beautiful reefs, incredible underwater marine life, and other recreational pursuits like scuba diving, snorkeling, and surfing.

In the last couple of weeks, a slew of Bollywood celebrities have been soaking up the sun, splashing in its blue waters and posing in beachwear while advertising themselves on Instagram. 

One reason why Bollywood actors - from celebrating their birthdays to anniversary to honeymoon (yes, actress Kajal Aggarwal and her husband Gautam Kitchlu holidayed in this archipelago for their honeymoon) - headed to the Maldives was that it was the only country that threw open its borders to everyone on July 15. 

The Maldives needs tourism, as the tourism-dependent (that too high-end) economy took a bit hit due to the pandemic. With the road to recovery looking really hard, the country decided that they had no choice but to carry on business as usual. 

The Maldives’ has 1,192 coral islands scattered in ring-like chains across the equator,  with 156 luxury resorts, which make up the backbone of its tourism sector, located on private islands, providing natural isolation to the rich and famous. 

 The island also follows the concept of one-island-one-resort-policy, which means the travelers are confined to the resort they are staying in – making it safer for both the tourists and the islanders. Also, the Maldives authorities have waived off quarantine period.  The only condition is that one needs a mandatory COVID-19 test done.

This is the perfect time to be in the Maldives. Rainfall is minimal and humidity is low. The other reason is the air bubble or transport bubble arrangement between India and the Maldives. 

All this made the idyllic archipelago a natural getaway for Bollywood actors as reflected in the gorgeous pictures posted on social media for the vicarious pleasure of their legions of fans