The revenue received by the state through airport fees have increased by 14.4% in January 2019.
In January, the state received USD 187.7 million as revenue which is an increase compared to the USD 155.34 million received in the same period last year, according to statistics released by Ministry of Finance.
While the amount received via Airport Service Charge (ASC) increased in January, the amount of tourists to Maldives in January increased 6.5 percent. ASC is levied on passengers departing from Maldives, at a rate of USD 25 per foreign passenger and USD 12 per Maldivian passenger. The state gained USD 3.831 million from ASC in January which is an increase of 27 percent compared to last year, according to finance ministry.
Meanwhile, the amount spent decreased in January this year compared to last year. Last year, January recorded USD 2 billion as expenses while the amount was recorded at USD 1.2 billion this year. The decrease is believed to be due to the controlled spending on huge infrastructure projects, Public Sector Investments Programme (PSIP).
In January, the highest amount was spent on salary and allowances of government staff.