Business

Maldives posts double digit growth in tourist arrivals amidst political crisis

Published

8 years ago

March 15, 2018

Maldives on Thursday posted a double digit growth in tourist arrivals in February despite a series of travel advisories from almost every major source market amidst heightened political instability.

Maldives has attracted a wave of bad publicity following the recent declaration and extension of a state of emergency. However, the political turmoil is strictly restricted to the capital city, away from the resorts and local islands where holidaymakers stay in.

However, official figures for the month of February released by the tourism ministry show that a total of 144,286 tourists visited the Maldives during the month — a 19.6 percent increase over the 121,052 tourists in February 2017.

Europe, the largest regional source market, posted an overall growth of 17.7 percent over February 2017, as arrivals increased to 79,710 from 67,730. Almost all the important European markets such as the UK (up 9.3 percent), Germany (up 10.3 percent), France (up 18.8 percent) and Italy (up 24.5 percent) made strong gains last month.

Asia followed the same growth trajectory, with a major uptick in numbers from the Chinese market despite a highly unusual travel advisory by the Chinese government.

Arrivals from China increased by 38.1 percent to reach 33,506 last month compared to the 24,263 in February 2017. This growth comes after a decline of 15.8 percent in January — a disappointing performance by the Maldives’ single biggest source market, which during the last two months of 2017 posted a stellar performance after major declines over the past two years.

Major contributors to Maldives tourism from South East Asia posted strong performances in February, with arrivals from countries such as Malaysia and Thailand increasing by 40.6 percent and 118.7 percent respectively. Arrivals from Singapore, however, declined by 40.8 percent.

However, arrivals from South Asia, which has become one of the fastest growing source markets, declined by 6.5 percent in February. Visitors from India, which is the most important market in the region, decreased by 1.1 percent — the first decline in almost a year — in light of repeated travel advisories.

Meanwhile, relatively new markets continued their upward growth trajectory last month as well, as arrivals from the Americas were up 26.4 percent, Oceania up 22 percent and Africa up 4.7 percent.

Arrivals from the US, which has recently secured a place amongst the top 10 contributors to the Maldives tourism industry, increased by 18.3 percent to reach 3,391 last month compared to the 2,867 in February 2017, while the number of visitors from Australia also increased by 23 percent. However, South Africa, which was once a major source market for the Maldives, posted a decline of seven percent after an extended period of recovery.

Middle East, which has proven to be a volatile market, posted another disappointing 19.4 percent decline in arrivals in February. This major decline, after a rare uptick in January, is largely due to fall in numbers from major Middle Eastern markets such as Saudi Arabia (down 31.1 percent), United Arab Emirates (down 25.1 percent) and Qatar (down 59.9 percent).

According to the February statistics, total arrivals for the first two months of the year increased by 16.3 percent to reach 286,637 compared to the 246,388 in the same period of last year.

Over the past five years, dozens of uninhabited islands have been leased to local and foreign resort developers. Several international brands have entered into the market, increasing the number of resorts to 120. That number is set to increase as the government has announced the opening of some 20 new resorts over the next two years.

Along with the new resort openings come 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.

Up Next

MATATO, Highrise to host first Maldives Showcase event in July

Don't Miss

Diamonds Resorts Maldives teaches young Maldivians art of hospitality

Business

Feydhoo Hall opens at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives as new event space

Published

1 week ago

February 16, 2026

m@ldives

Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, has announced the opening of Feydhoo Hall, a landmark event venue at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives, redefining the possibilities for meetings, celebrations, and destination events in the Maldives.

Designed to bring scale, flexibility, and creativity to island gatherings, Feydhoo Hall represents a bold step forward in positioning the Maldives as a dynamic destination for conferences, weddings, and large-scale social occasions.

Feydhoo Hall offers a versatile event complex designed to accommodate a wide range of gatherings, from corporate meetings and conferences to weddings and social celebrations.

At its core is the 390 sqm Main Hall, capable of hosting:

Up to 300 guests in theatre-style setup
Up to 240 guests for dining and banquet-style events
Up to 200 guests for cocktail-style receptions
Up to 144 guests in cluster-round configuration

Enhancing the flexibility of the venue are additional dedicated spaces, including:

A 110 sqm Veranda Terrace, ideal for welcome receptions, breakout sessions, and pre-event gatherings, accommodating up to 100 guests for cocktail-style events.
A spacious 1,000 sqm Lawn Space, perfect for large-scale outdoor celebrations, destination weddings, and open-air events, accommodating up to 400 guests for cocktail receptions and up to 350 guests for dining setups.
The 55 sqm Ekugai Meeting Room, designed for smaller meetings and executive sessions, accommodating up to 30 guests in theatre or dining setup and 24 guests in cluster-round format.

Together, these integrated spaces create a seamless indoor-outdoor event experience, allowing planners to design dynamic and personalised event journeys.

True to the dusitD2 brand’s lifestyle-driven philosophy, Feydhoo Hall introduces a fresh approach to meetings and events — where productivity meets creativity in an inspiring island setting.

The venue offers flexible meeting formats designed to suit different event needs, including:

Half-Day Meeting Package (4 hours) — ideal for focused sessions, executive meetings, and creative workshops.
Full-Day Meeting Package (8 hours) — designed for immersive conferences, extended workshops, and large-scale corporate gatherings.

These thoughtfully structured packages provide planners with the flexibility to create impactful and seamless experiences, whether hosting intimate strategy sessions or dynamic full-day events.

Located just seven minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport, dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives combines accessibility with vibrant lifestyle energy, offering event planners and guests a rare balance between convenience and tropical escape.

With the introduction of Feydhoo Hall, the resort strengthens its position as a versatile destination — not only for leisure travellers but also for international conferences, creative retreats, luxury weddings, and large-scale social celebrations seeking something refreshingly different in the Maldives.

Business

BBM expands retail presence with new Hulhumalé outlet

Published

1 week ago

February 16, 2026

m@ldives

Bestbuy Maldives (BBM) opened a new wholesale store in Hulhumalé Phase 2 on Monday.

The outlet is located on the ground floor of Lot 20286, Nirolhu Magu, and is intended to improve access to BBM’s imported goods for residents of Hulhumalé Phase 2 and for businesses operating in the area.

According to the company, the opening forms part of its plan to expand services closer to customers in line with population growth in Hulhumalé.

With the opening of the new store, BBM’s full range of imported and distributed products will be available at the Hulhumalé Phase 2 location. These include consumer goods from international brands such as Lifebuoy, Vaseline and Unilever.

The store will also stock wholesale food products from brands including Daily, Cavin’s and Redman.

BBM has supplied goods to resorts, hotels and retail outlets across the Maldives for several years.

Action

Ataraxis Grand & Spa hosts integrated work-and-dive corporate retreat in Fuvahmulah

Published

4 weeks ago

January 29, 2026

m@ldives

Ataraxis Grand & Spa recently hosted a week-long, closed corporate offsite in Fuvahmulah for a US-based artificial intelligence company, highlighting the island’s growing suitability for integrated work-and-experience retreats. The retreat brought a group of 36 international professionals to the property, which was reserved exclusively for the programme.

Designed as a private company offsite, the stay combined structured daily work sessions with guided diving and beginner-friendly surf experiences, creating a balanced format that blended focused collaboration with physical reset.

A notable component of the programme was dive training and certification. During the retreat, 17 participants completed their Open Water certification, while a further six undertook the Advanced Open Water course, with training and dives scheduled alongside work sessions as part of the integrated itinerary.

Throughout the week, participants worked on-site using dedicated shared spaces supported by reliable high-speed internet, allowing meetings, informal collaboration and scheduled activities to take place within a single, uninterrupted environment. This setup enabled teams to move seamlessly between work periods and organised ocean activities without leaving the property.

Fuvahmulah’s natural and operational advantages formed a key part of the retreat’s appeal. As one of the Maldives’ largest inhabited islands, it offers immediate access to pelagic dive sites, internationally recognised shark diving and surf breaks suitable for instruction, alongside the infrastructure required to support extended group stays.

The offsite reflects a growing preference among technology and knowledge-sector teams for small-scale retreats that prioritise concentrated work environments and team cohesion over traditional conference formats. Such programmes typically involve longer stays and higher per-capita spend, aligning with sustainable, quality-driven tourism models.

The retreat also demonstrates how locally operated properties such as Ataraxis Grand & Spa are supporting this shift by delivering unified environments where accommodation, workspaces, connectivity and curated experiences operate as a single programme rather than separate services.

As organisations continue to explore alternative formats for strategy sessions, team resets and creative offsites, Ataraxis Grand & Spa’s experience positions Fuvahmulah as an increasingly viable destination for integrated corporate retreats.

Ataraxis Grand & Spa offers work-and-dive retreat programmes in Fuvahmulah that combine accommodation, dedicated workspaces, high-speed connectivity and organised diving and surfing.