Occupancy rate declines in December 2014

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The occupancy rate of the Maldivian tourism industry declined from 76% in December 2013 to 74% in December 2014, the Maldives Monetary Authority’s (MMA) monthly economic review has revealed.

 The central bank noted that total bednights in December 2014 fell by 3% compared to the corresponding period the previous year while the average duration of stay declined to 6 days.

 “During December 2014, total tourist arrivals reached 103,744 reflecting a marginal decline of 1% compared to a year ago although a 16% increase was recorded compared to the previous month,” the monthly review observed. “The annual decline in arrivals was largely due to the decline in arrivals from Asia and Europe.”

 According to end of the year statistics from the Ministry of Tourism, tourist arrivals grew 7.1% in 2014 compared to the previous year, reaching 1.2 million visitors.

 However, the industry recorded negative growth in November (-5.1%) and December (-1.2%) due to a sharp fall in arrivals from Russia, Western Europe and East Asia.

 Whilst the number of Russian tourists declined by 44.7% in December 2014 compared to the same period the previous year, arrivals from China and Japan dropped by 12.2% and

11.8% respectively.

 China, however, retained its position as the largest source market for tourists to the Maldives with a 30% market share, registering a 9.6% annual growth rate.

Of a total of 508 registered tourist facilities, the Tourism Ministry revealed that 293 establishments on average were operational in 2014 with a combined bed capacity of 26,891. These include 22,914 beds in 104 resorts, 1,435 beds in 16 hotels, 1,477 beds in 108 guesthouses and 1,064 beds in 66 safari vessels.

 The total bedights in 2014 saw an annual increase of 3.6% while the occupancy rate increased 0.6% with 74.5% at the end of 2014.

 The average duration of stay in 2014 was at 6.1 days, which was 0.2 days less than that of 2013.

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