EaseMyTrip reiterates its decision to suspend all travel bookings to the Maldives with a print ad

It says, “Nation First, Business Later.”

After announcing on social media its decision to suspend all travel bookings to the Maldives, online travel aggregator (OTA) EaseMyTrip has taken out a print ad to reiterate the same, including a motto: Nation First, Business Later.

The OTA chose to suspend bookings to the Maldives after a few not-so-innocuous tweets from the State’s ministers targeted India's Prime Minister Modi after his recent visit to the Lakshadweep islands.

What followed was an online hullabaloo on netizens, celebrities, public representatives, and even a brand or two chiming in about prioritising the Indian islands of Lakshadweep over the Maldives, which several Indians had flocked to in the past couple of years.

Also Read: Post PM Modi’s Lakshadweep trip, EaseMyTrip halts Maldives bookings; celebs promote desi destinations

“We have taken a stand in response to the recent inappropriate and unprovoked remarks by multiple Maldivian ministers about India, its citizens, and our Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi,” reads a part of the print copy.

It is interesting to read the last sentence of the ad copy because it is a nod to how social media conversations are crucial to such happenings: "Your support on social media is a reflection of our shared love for the nation."