Tourist Arrivals Hikes Up by 10 Percent in the First Half of 2018


Maldives
PUBLISHED November 04, 2018

Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has revealed a 10 per cent increase in tourist bed occupancy rate on the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2017.

According to the statistical report disclosed by MMA, 41,290 tourist beds have been established in the country, including an additional 3,646 introduced within the first six months of 2018. The number of resorts has increased from 124 to 127 across the archipelago, while guesthouses grew from 432 to 490.

Furthermore, the report shows that tourist arrivals spiked by 10 per cent in the first six months of this year with 726,516 visitors. The largest amount of tourist arrivals is from Europe, with the region comprising over 51 per cent of all tourist arrivals.

The Maldivian Government has leased dozens of uninhabited islands to local and foreign resort developers over the past five years. As such, a number of international brands have entered into the Maldivian market increasing the number of resorts. The government has announced that more resorts will be opening over the next two years.

Along with the new resort openings, the guesthouse sector is also rapidly expanding in order to meet the increasing demand from budget travellers who choose guesthouses over luxury resorts that the Maldives is known for.

The government last year announced new steps to maintain a structured growth in tourism, including a slowdown in leasing islands for resort development and increased marketing efforts in key markets such as China and the Middle East in order to reach an ambitious target of a record 1.5 million tourist arrivals this year.

MMA's report estimated that 1.5 million tourists will visit the country by the end of the year, highlighting that half of the target has been achieved.
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