Minister of Torusim Ibrahim Faisal has revealed that the government aims to increase the revenue generated through the tourism industry to USD 7 billion, during this tenure.
Speaking on a programme aired on PSM News, Minister Faisal reiterated the government's overarching goal of boosting the revenue generated from tourism. The tourism industry contributes the greatest portion of the state revenue. The minister stated that the government has adopted plans to boost the revenue to USD 7 billion, adding that efforts are also underway to increase tourist arrivals to four million annually.
Furthermore, Minister Faisal emphasised the efforts exerted to increase the tourist arrival from China and India. The minister stated that while over 200,000 Chinese tourists have visted the Maldives, the aim is to increase the number of tourists welcomed from China to 300,000, breaking the 2019 record. In 2019, the Maldives welcomed a total of 284,000 tourists from China. This represents the largest influx of tourists from the Chinese market to this date.
Depite the tourist arrivals from India being low earlier this year, Minister Faisal disclosed that the tourist arrivals from India have slowly been increasing. He expressed optimism in the Indian market, stating that the tourist arrivals from India will progress during the upcoming high-season.