Maldives Integrated Tourism Development Corporation (MITDC) has opened the bidding process for the integrated guesthouse island of Baresdhoo.

A 35-room guesthouse is to be leased for USD 10,000 per month, while the monthly rent for a 60-room guesthouse is set at USD 18,000. Each of the two 100-bed hotels are to be rented out for USD 45,000 per month.

“We’ll develop the guesthouses as per the specifications of the lessees. They’ll be able to start operating the property as soon as they get it,” MITDC Managing Director Mohamed Shahid said, at an information session for potential investors held at Hotel Jen in capital Male on Wednesday.

According to MITDC, bid documents are available for purchase until October 16 for MVR 3,000. Bids should be submitted after October 25.

State tourism promotion company Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has earlier announced the sale of 16 land plots from Baresdhoo, which is the first ever integrated guesthouse development in the Maldives.

However, MITDC recently took over the project from MMPRC and changed it to a rental business model.

According to MITDC, the 75-hectare island of Baresdhoo in Laamu atoll will have restaurants, cafes, bars, a spa, a theme park, a theatre, a golf course, a botanical garden and a dive centre to support the guesthouses and hotels. Construction will begin this year and will be completed within 18 months, it said.

MMPRC has earlier built the island’s harbour and joined a small nearby island to Baresdhoo. A local company has also been contracted to build the road network of the island.

Government’s foray into guesthouse business comes amid a significant increase in the number of guesthouses across the archipelago. Some 300 guesthouses have started operations over the past five years as the number of travellers that choose to stay in guesthouses is on the rise.