Villa Airport Maamigili: An ever-expanding story
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Just six years into operation, Villa Airport Maamigili (VAM) is preparing to unveil a new 14,478 square feet terminal building during the first quarter of 2018. The current terminal building—5,242 square feet in size—was built in November 2011 with basic facilities. “The current airport terminal is small. In order to alleviate any inconveniences passengers may […]
Gold Standard – Three Maldives hotels named amongst world’s best
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Three Maldives hotels have made the highly influential list of best hotels in the world for 2018 by Condé Nast Traveller. Cheval Blanc Randheli in Noonu Atoll, Four Seasons Private Island at Voavoh, Baa Atoll and Soneva Fushi in Kunfunadhoo Island all feature in the travel bible’s 2018 list. “This is our list of the […]
UK visitor numbers to the Maldives record positive growth
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The UK outbound travel market to the Maldives is seeing signs of steady growth. The Maldives announced an 18.7 percent increase in UK visitor arrivals when comparing November 2017 with the same month in 2016. In total, 9,579 UK visitors travelled to the Maldives during the month, up from 8,073 a year earlier. Furthermore, UK […]
Germany on track to recovery after steep decline in market share in 2013
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The German outbound travel market has been gradually showing signs of recovery with positive growths in the past four years. Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) says the number of arrivals from Germany during January-July 2017 increased to 60,522 compared to the same period of 2015, which is a positive growth of […]
Understanding Chinese source market for Maldives
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Maldives has not been able to bounce back to 2015 figures for the Chinese market, which is one of the largest markets for the destination. The China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI) says the number of arrivals from China during January-July 2017 decreased to 175,771 compared to the same period for 2015, which amounts to […]
Maldives combines efforts to create impactful destination marketing
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Maldives has been incredibly successful in exhibiting at international festivals which have driven the increase of international arrivals to the Maldives. A strong events calendar is seen as a “powerful tool” in getting travellers to visit the Maldives over any other destination. Both the Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC) and local ventures Maldives […]
Maldives to invest US$28 million to diversify tourism growth
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Maldives is set to invest MVR444 million (US$28 million) to develop tourism infrastructure as it attempts to diversify the country’s tourism growth with a range of projects in the pipeline. These funds are allocated for infrastructure projects in the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) in the National Budget for 2018. The projects include the […]
Maldives resort rates down 2 percent as supply increases
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The rise in the supply of new hotels is resulting in the fall of occupancy rates along with average rates of resorts in the Maldives, according to data on the third quarter of 2017 by the country’s central bank. Maldives Monetary Authority’s economic bulletin for the third quarter revealed that the average occupancy rate of […]
Vadivazhagan Paneer Selvam – not your everyday eco-activist
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Vadivazhagan ‘Vadi’ Paneer Selvam is the Earth Lab Supervisor at the Six Senses Laamu – a pilot project which raises the bar on eco-education and sustainability. The Earth Lab programme has since expanded into all 11 Six Senses properties and each lab serves as an accountability tool to produce locally, reduce consumption and support nearby […]
Maldives remains a tourism-driven economy
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Maldives tourism and hospitality sector has contributed 22.7 percent to GDP by the end of 2016, according to the Ministry of Tourism. The Tourism Ministry also said the total contribution of travel and tourism in the country amounts to 70 percent of the foreign exchange earnings and one-third of the government’s revenue. Tourism is […]
T-GST revenue set to rise by US$11.2 million for 2018
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Revenue generated by Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) is set to rise by US$11.2 million for 2018. T-GST, which was introduced in 2011, is imposed on the hospitality sector in addition to Land Rent Tax, Bed Tax and Business Profit Tax. According to statistics from the Finance Ministry, this figure is 5.9 percent of […]
Adaaran Resorts Maldives holds Dhivehi Rahathah Challenge
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Adaaran Resorts Maldives’ first ever culinary challenge competition, dubbed the ‘Dhivehi Rahathah Challenge’, has concluded. The culinary competition concluded after three months of training programmes and competitions among resort teams, and a day-long culinary competition between the winning teams. The most prestigious award of the competition was awarded to Team 2 from Adaaran Club Rannaalhi […]
