Maldives - Ban Is Quickly Lifted on Massage Parlors and Spas - NYTimes.com A ban on luxury spas at hotels and massage parlors in the Maldives was lifted on Wednesday under pressure from the country's key tourism industry a week after it was imposed as part of an effort to curb perceived vice. "We have lifted the ban, and all the services will available for tourists," President Mohamed Nasheed told Reuters by telephone from the capital, Male. We wanted to give confidence to tourists. Mr. Nasheed said he ordered the ban in response to calls by the main opposition party, which claimed the spas and parlors were fronts for prostitution and led to the spread of drugs and alcohol to local residents in the mainly Sunni Muslim nation. But the opposition coalition said it had never asked for the ban.