The Maldives expects tourist arrivals this year to reach levels comparable to last year, despite a slowdown over the past three months, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen has said.
Minister Ameen noted that last year recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals in the Maldives’ history.
Speaking at the Ahaa Forum, the minister was asked about the decline in tourist arrivals compared with the previous year. He attributed last year’s strong performance partly to improvements in the Maldives’ aviation safety standards.
Minister Ameen said reforms introduced in the civil aviation sector in 2024, in line with President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s pledges, had strengthened safety standards. He added that the Maldives had made progress in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit, which assesses international aviation safety and security standards.
“As a result of the President’s decisions and the work carried out, the ICAO audit was completed early last year, with a score of 79.6 percent. With the improvement in the Maldives’ safety and security standards, more European carriers began operating flights to the country, contributing to the arrival of 2.275 million tourists,” Minister Ameen said.
The minister said tourist arrivals increased in January and February this year, in line with the government’s targets. However, the conflict in the Middle East contributed to a 24 percent decline in arrivals in March, April and May compared with the same period last year.
He said joint efforts by the government and the tourism industry had helped narrow the decline to 1.3 percent.
“Our current forecast is that we can come close to matching last year’s figures by the end of this year. If we can finish slightly below that level, I would still consider it a good outcome. Achieving that would represent significant progress. This is not a challenge unique to us, but our recovery could serve as an example to many others around the world. I am very pleased,” Minister Ameen said.
According to figures from the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, 1.6 million tourists have visited the Maldives so far this year.
As part of efforts to strengthen the tourism sector and increase visitor numbers, President Muizzu has declared next year the Year of Visiting the Maldives.