Tourism Minister Confident Maldives Will Match Last Year’s Tourist Arrivals

Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen has expressed confidence that the Maldives will match last year’s tourist arrival figures by the end of the year despite global challenges affecting international travel.

Speaking to PSM News, Ameen said the government had been working to minimise the impact of global disruptions on the tourism industry and maintain visitor numbers throughout the year.

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He said the conflict in the Middle East had created significant challenges for international travel, with the Maldives also experiencing the effects. According to the minister, the government has prioritised measures to reduce the impact on the tourism sector.

Ameen said last year was the strongest year on record for the Maldives’ tourism industry and that matching or exceeding those arrival figures this year would be a significant achievement. He added that such an outcome would reflect the combined efforts of the government, the tourism industry and other stakeholders.

The minister said the year-on-year decline in tourist arrivals had narrowed considerably in recent months. Based on current booking trends for the third and fourth quarters, as well as industry assessments, he said there was growing confidence that arrivals would not fall below last year’s total.

He explained that the conflict in the Middle East had resulted in changes to international flight routes and increased travel costs, creating challenges for destinations such as the Maldives. He added that the impact had been particularly evident in European markets, where route changes and higher fuel costs had affected travel demand.

Ameen also noted that countries in the Middle East remain an important source market for the Maldives. While regional instability had affected arrivals from those markets, he said the government had helped offset the impact through new marketing strategies and by expanding its focus to other international markets.

According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, 1,198,343 tourists have visited the Maldives so far this year, a decrease of 4.6 per cent compared with the 1,256,306 arrivals recorded during the same period last year.

However, the year-on-year decline for the current month has narrowed to 1.4 per cent, indicating an improvement in tourist arrival trends.