Tourism in a small country like the Maldives is now an example to the whole world, Minister of Tourism Ibrahim Faisal has said.
The Minister of Tourism made these remarks during an interview with PSM News while attending New Year festivities to celebrate the tourism achievements in the past year.
The Minister highlighted the key achievements of 2024, noting that February last year was the month with the highest number of tourist arrivals followed by December a close second.
The Minister also noted that Maldives’ tourism industry won the World's Most Popular Destination award for the fifth time last year, adding that the world is now looking at Maldives as an example for tourism.
"I believe that Maldives tourism has a bright future. There are challenges. But to win the World Leading Destination Award five times in a row means that we are still very popular among tourists,” he said.
Maldives is now a global brand. Many countries are now copying our tourism model. That in itself is a matter of great pride for us.”
Minister attributed the global recognition and the achievements last year, to the hardworking and dedicated people in the tourism industry along with the vision and advise of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu.
"We achieved this target of two million tourists thanks to the cooperation of the entire industry, the marketing team of the resorts, the active staff of the MMPRC, the staff of the Ministry of Tourism and the opportunity provided to us by the President's entire Administration,” Minister Faisal said.
The Minister said the top priority this year will be to improve occupancy at resorts. The government aims to improve tourism occupancy and bring in 15 percent more tourists this year than last year.