Business
As festive season begins, Maldives records strong visitor demand
Resorts across the Maldives lit up for Christmas celebrations Sunday evening, as the world-renowned holiday destination continues to observe strong demand for the festive season.
December to April is considered the peak tourist season, as these months constitute summers in Maldives. Between December and April, the islands boast of dry weather, making it ideal for tourists to travel and enjoy the tropical environment.
Christmas celebrations in the Maldives. PHOTO/ KANIPHOTOSHOP
Resorts across the archipelago organise special activities for Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations, which fall during the peak tourist season.
Although a recent increase in supply has led to a drop in room rates and occupancy all year round, several resorts are reporting high occupancy rates all throughout December. Many high-end resorts located close to the main airport are reporting full occupancy.
“We’re running full for the next two weeks,” an official from a luxury resort in South Male Atoll said.
Qaisar Naseem, the Group General Manager for leading local resort operator Villa Hotels and Resorts, said all five Villa resorts are seeing higher demand and occupancy rates compared to the festive season of last year. He attributed the increase in numbers to discounted rates and special offers given exclusively for the holiday season.
These developments are in line with the latest official figures.
According to the country central bank, an annual increase of 15 percent in operational bed capacity led to a fall in average occupancy rate of resorts to 68 percent in the third quarter of the year. However, the occupancy rate in November increased by 2.5 percent to reach 63.2 percent from 60.7 percent in November 2016.
Many resorts have also seen their rates soar for the festive season, reaching levels that had mostly been achieved before the recent tourism boom.
“Our average nightly room rate for December is USD 4,000,” an official from another high-end resort said.
As with every festive season, the Maldives’ main Velana International Airport has observed a high private jet traffic.
Figures from the Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) show that 26 private jets are at the apron as of Monday. About 130 jets are expected to arrive in the Maldives over the next 10 days.
“We might not be able to reach last year’s record of 53 on New Year’s Day alone, but the demand is exceptionally high. We’re catering to 12 jets a day on average,” an official from the state owned airport operator said.
Private jets parked at the Maldives main Velana International Airport on New Year’s Day 2016. PHOTO/ MACL
The Maldives has attracted 1,246,501 tourists over the past 11 months — a 6.8 percent increase from the 1,166,605 in the same period of last year.
After years of double-digit growth in tourism, the Maldives has over the recent years observed a slowdown in growth. The government has set an ambitious target of attracting 1.5 million tourists by the end of this year, but the country has been struggling to create demand amidst a significant increase in bed capacity.
Along with a wave of new resort openings comes the challenge of increasing demand from budget travellers who choose guesthouses over luxury resorts that the Maldives is known for. The guesthouse sector has rapidly expanded with over 450 guesthouses in operation today.
The government has recently announced new steps to maintain a structured growth in tourism, including a slowdown in leasing islands for resort development and increased marketing efforts in key markets such as China and the Middle East in order to reach an ambitious target of a record 1.5 million tourist arrivals this year.
However, the latest developments are a welcome sign for the Maldives tourism industry, which is the main economic activity of the island nation.
Main photo: Lily Beach Resort and Spa Maldives
Maldives on Thursday welcomed the one millionth tourist to visit this year.
The one millionth tourist is a Thai named Sutapa Amonwivat, who arrived from Singapore with her husband and two children. This is her second visit to Maldives.
Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) and the Ministry of Tourism gave a warm welcome to Sutapa at the Velana International Airport (VIA) Thursday afternoon. She was welcomed at the VIA by tourism minister Ibrahim Faisal, MMPRC Managing Director Ibrahim Shiury and senior officials of various relevant agencies.
After welcoming her with traditional offerings, she was presented with various gifts by the ministry, MMPRC, customs, immigration, Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) and Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA).
Maldives reached one million tourists in June, three weeks earlier than last year. The number of tourists reached one million on July 16, 2023.
Maldives expects to reach 2 million tourists this year.
Chongqing Airlines on Monday began its inaugural flights to Maldives.
The Chongqing-Male route, scheduled three times a week, is expected to strengthen the bonds between China and the Maldives, opening up exciting new opportunities for tourism and cultural exchange.
The inaugural flight was welcomed upon its arrival at Velana International Airport (VIA) in Maldives, where local officials and tourism representatives expressed their enthusiasm for this new development.
“We warmly welcome our friends from China to our beautiful islands. This new connection strengthens our bonds and opens up new opportunities for tourism,” the tourism ministry said on X.
Maldives currently welcomes four airlines from China, including China Eastern, Beijing Capital Airlines, Xiamen Airlines.
In January, Maldives government urged tourism stakeholders in both Maldives and China to ramp up efforts to restore China’s position as the primary source market for Maldives tourism, a status held before the onset of Covid-19.
China, being the largest source market for Maldives tourism before the pandemic, saw a resumption of tourist arrivals from January 2023 after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. In 2023, the Maldives welcomed 187,118 Chinese tourists, marking a significant recovery in numbers. This year, the Maldives has welcomed the most number of tourists from China, with over 107,940 or 11.5 percent of total arrivals by June 12.
CROSSROADS Maldives has introduced WeChat Pay, widely known as Weixin Pay in China, across its world-class resorts, SAii Lagoon Maldives, Curio Collection by Hilton, and Hard Rock Hotel Maldives. This payment option is made available to enhance the convenience and overall experience for guests from China, making their stay in the Maldives more enjoyable and hassle-free.
Understanding the needs of the diverse guests, CROSSROADS Maldives has integrated WeChat Pay into operations, allowing guests from China to easily and securely conduct transactions using a payment method familiar to them. The introduction of WeChat Pay is a testament to CROSSROADS Maldives’ dedication to enhancing guest satisfaction by offering exceptional experiences at every turn. What is also expected through this initiative is that the guests could benefit from better foreign exchange rates, translating to better savings on their expenditures during their stay.
The option is available for guests in-house conveniently at both resorts as well as across the Marina at CROSSROADS Maldives where a wider variety of unparalleled dining and retail experiences are available for all guests. The day visitors from China will also therefore equally benefit from this new introduction at the Maldives’ premier multi-island integrated leisure destination.
SAii Lagoon Maldives, Curio Collection by Hilton, is a vibrant tropical escape that offers unique and locally inspired experiences. The resort features spacious rooms and villas, a variety of dining options, and an array of recreational activities designed to cater to the desires of modern travellers. Guests can escape to the island’s SAiisational natural beauty, enjoy water sports, and indulge in spa treatments, all while relishing the personalised service that defines Hilton’s Curio Collection.
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