Tourism Minister Dr. Abdulla Mausoom has revealed Maldives’ tourist arrival goal for 2023; two million.
He revealed the goal whilst delivering the keynote speech on Maldives’ tourism recovery at the ‘Reimagining Tourism: Coming Back from the Brink’ seminar held online as part of Asian Development Bank’s 55th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors 2022 on last Tuesday.
As the Maldives celebrates the 50th anniversary of its tourism industry this year – Minister Mausoom said that the industry is aiming to welcome 1.6 million tourists, with 13 million bed nights by the end of the year. He expressed confidence that the goal can be achieved based on the most recent tourism statistics. Statistics by Tourism Ministry show that Maldives welcomed 1,141,122 tourists as of September 18, with an average stay of 8.2 days.
Noting that tourist arrivals were at pre-pandemic levels currently, he said that the goal for next year is to welcome two million tourists, with 14.5 million bed nights.
Minister Mausoom, in his keynote speech, said that the tourism-reliant Maldives now hails as one of the fastest recovering countries from the COVID-19 pandemic despite being one of the toughest hit by the global health crisis.
He attributed the success of the Maldivian tourism industry during and post-pandemic to the hard work of industry workers and loyal tourists.
Tourism accounts for 47 percent of the Maldives’ GDP directly, and 46 percent of the state’s income. The sector also accounts for the majority of foreign currency influx.
In 2019, the country welcomed over 1.7 million tourists, raising hopes for next year.
However, the island nation was forced to close its borders to international tourists on March 27, 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Within weeks, the economic and social impact was felt in all corners of the country.
The border reopened on July 15, 2020 – on a practical model, ‘the one-island, one-resort’ concept, allowing safety to the tourists, industry workers and the public. Nevertheless, arrivals remained low the first two months after the border was reopened due to the closure of borders in other countries.
In 2020, tourist arrivals to the Maldives stood at just 555,494. Despite this, the island nation’s unique and holistic approach to tourism led to securing the title ‘World’s Leading Destination' at World Travel Awards of the year.
With relentless marketing programs from both the public and private sector, tourism began recovering in 2021. Maldives met its tourist arrival target – 1.3 million – for 2021 in late December. Welcoming a total of 1,321,932 tourists by the end of the year – Maldives also defended its title as the ‘World’s Leading Destination' at World Travel Awards 2021.
