Maldives Tourist Arrivals Fall 3.5 Per Cent to 1.61 Million in First Week of October

Tourist arrivals to the Maldives fell 3.5 per cent year-on-year to 1.61 million as of 7 October, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation’s weekly tourism update published on Thursday.

The ministry recorded 1,611,434 tourist arrivals during the period, alongside 15,461 business arrivals and 15,583 cruise passengers, bringing total visitor arrivals to 1,642,478.

advertisement

advertisement

The daily average stood at 5,755 tourist arrivals, while total visitor arrivals averaged 5,866 per day.

China remained the Maldives’ largest source market, accounting for 311,485 tourists, or 19.3 per cent of arrivals. Russia ranked second with 234,718 tourists (14.6 per cent), followed by the United Kingdom with 122,067 (7.6 per cent).

Germany contributed 103,144 tourists, while Italy recorded 99,531 and India 93,043.

Resorts remained the main accommodation choice, hosting 1,188,689 tourists, or 73.8 per cent of arrivals. Guesthouses accounted for 352,544 tourists (21.9 per cent), followed by hotels with 36,869 (2.3 per cent) and safari vessels with 30,678 (1.9 per cent).

Velana International Airport handled 1,608,240 arrivals, accounting for 97.9 per cent of all visitors.

The country had 68,013 operational beds out of 68,733 registered beds across 1,289 tourism facilities, representing an operational capacity of 99 per cent. Resorts accounted for 45,171 available beds.

The decline comes amid changes to the country’s tourism landscape, including the extension of the 17 per cent Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) to inbound tourism products sold through foreign tour operators and booking platforms from 1 October, and a revised foreign currency conversion requirement for tourism businesses.

Tourism Minister Mohamed Ameen and other government ministers recently met senior industry representatives amid concerns over the new tax regime. Ameen has said the government plans to introduce further amendments following complaints from the industry and foreign tour operators, although details of the proposed changes have not been disclosed.

Meanwhile, the revised foreign currency rules require resorts to convert 40 per cent of their monthly gross foreign currency sales through local banks, while guesthouses, hotels and liveaboards must convert either USD 25 per tourist or 20 per cent of monthly gross sales.