Maldives is expected to reach over 40,000 registered tourist beds by the end of August 2017, according to statistics of Ministry of Tourism. The statistics showed that total tourist beds increased from 38,078 beds to 39,570 by June.
While there are 128 registered resorts in operation with a total bed capacity of over 28,000, guesthouses contribute over 6,400 beds to the market. The statistics also revealed that there are 146 registered safari vessels currently with a bed capacity of 2,700, while the 14 hotels throughout Maldives contribute to just over 1,600 beds.
Despite the positives, there are some negatives to these recent statistics. Tourist occupancy in the Maldives has gone down from 63.9% in 2016 to 61.4% for the first quarter of 2017, showing a decline of 3.9%.
Despite the decrease in total occupancy for the first quarter, the Maldivian government has planned to develop and open 50 more tourist resorts before the end of the current presidential term by 2018.