The government has set its sights on boosting tourism revenue to USD5 billion next year, Minister of Tourism Ibrahim Faisal announced Thursday.
The Minister made these remarks at the ceremony held on Thursday morning to welcome its two millionth tourist of the year, marking an unprecedented achievement in the nation’s history.
For the first time in its 52-year history of tourism, the Maldives has exceeded two million visitors. This remarkable achievement was realised when Astrid Dirnegger from Austria touched down in Malé on an Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna.
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Minister Faisal said Maldives had broken several tourism records this year, noting the records set on single day and single month arrivals.
In February, Maldives rewrote its national records registering over 10,000 tourist arrivals in a single day. The island nation ended the month with a record high 217,000 tourists in a single month. The Minister also noted that 2024 remains the year the Maldives crossed one million tourists milestone the quickest.
But without resting on such lofty laurels, Minister Faisal has already set an aim to surpass this year’s tourist arrivals by 15 percent next year.
"Our goal is for the whole government and the whole team to achieve a 15 percent increase in arrivals next year. And with that, if you look at revenue, I believe tourism revenue will go to about USD5 billion. This in itself would also be a huge accomplishment,” he said.
The Minister noted the significant role played by the Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC) together with the entire and the tourism industry to achieve the target set by the government this year.
Faisal said Maldives will enhance and intensify marketing activities to achieve next year's tourist arrival target.
As part of these initiatives, the administration is working to complete the construction of the new passenger terminal at VIA with the goal of opening it next year. According to the government, the opening of this new terminal is expected to significantly boost tourist arrivals while enhancing the services provided to tourists and other passengers travelling to and from the Maldives.
This surge in tourist numbers aligns with the administration’s strategic efforts to promote and diversify the tourism sector. As part of these initiatives, the national carrier, Maldivian, is scheduled to commence international flights using wide-body aircraft in January. The inaugural flights will be to Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu in China, with plans to expand to various European countries. The government anticipates that the deployment of wide-body aircraft will significantly enhance tourist arrivals by targeting major tourism markets worldwide.