Forex bill proposes optional $500 per tourist exchange
Parliament on Monday received the new foreign exchange bill, which proposes to change the current mandatory requirement for resorts to exchange $500 per tourist optional or to enable them to exchange 20% of revenue instead. The bill was presented by Inguraidhoo MP and PNC parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Falah on behalf of the government. It […]
Maldives loses cruise line business to neighbouring destinations over high taxes
Cruise liners have stopped arriving in the Maldives due to increased costs stemming from the imposition of Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) on tourists. This development has significantly impacted the operations of agents facilitating cruise line visits to the Maldives. Under a regulation introduced during the previous government, cruise tourists are required to pay […]
Maldives tourism in precarious state, MATATO says
The Maldives Association for Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) on Thursday unveiled the findings of a recent survey highlighting the fragile state of the country’s tourism industry. MATATO’s President, Abdulla Giyas, presented the results of the survey, which involved more than 2,000 participants, at a press conference. Notably, these participants included not only local […]
Maldives faces $1.7b annual economic loss from 88 unfinished resorts
The Maldivian tourism industry is grappling with a substantial setback as 88 resorts designated for development remain incomplete, resulting in an annual economic loss of $1.7 billion, as per the Finance Ministry’s fiscal statement for 2024-26. Maldives, heavily reliant on tourism, considers these unfinished resorts a linchpin of its economic prosperity. However, these 88 islands, […]
Patterns of Tourism Development in the Maldives and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka and the Maldives are geographic, cultural and economic neighbors whose lives and livelihoods have been historically and even today intermingled and integrated.
