Applications for the MIB Guesthouse Awards 2026 will officially open on 15 July, the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) has announced. The bank has also published the eligibility criteria for the awards.
The MIB Guesthouse Awards is currently the only awards programme of its kind in the Maldives dedicated to recognising and celebrating the achievements of outstanding local tourism service providers, guesthouses and islands within the country's growing guesthouse tourism sector.
The evaluation process will be conducted independently by Crowe Maldives Advisory. The awards have also received official endorsement from the Guesthouse Association of Maldives (GAM).
To ensure a fair and transparent evaluation process, MIB has established specific criteria for each award category. Guesthouses have been divided into two tiers to create a level playing field for establishments of different sizes.
Tier 1 comprises guesthouses with up to 10 rooms, while Tier 2 includes guesthouses with 11 or more rooms.
To qualify for the awards, guesthouses must be legally registered under the Companies Act of the Maldives and hold a valid, unexpired guesthouse operating licence issued by the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.
Applicants must also submit all legally required documentation, including a Tax Clearance Certificate, proof of compliance with the Pension Act and documents demonstrating compliance with employment laws.
Eligible guesthouses must have operated continuously for at least 12 months before the application date and remain in active operation. They must also maintain an active listing on internationally recognised online travel platforms, including Booking.com, Airbnb, Agoda or TripAdvisor.
For the individual award categories, applicants must be Maldivian citizens and must not have any conflict of interest with Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) or Crowe Maldives Advisory.
To qualify for the Guesthouse Tourism Champion Island Award, competing islands must demonstrate sustained efforts to develop local tourism and have a combined total of at least 50 operational guesthouse rooms at the time of application.
The MIB Guesthouse Awards 2026 will feature three main categories, comprising eight guesthouse awards under each tier, three individual awards recognising outstanding hospitality professionals, and one award for the most outstanding island.
MIB said the date of the awards ceremony will be announced through its official media channels at a later stage.