2 million tourists expected next year: Minister

Maldives is expected to attract two million tourists by 2024, Tourism Minister Ahmed Faisal has said.

The Minister was speaking on PSM's 'Rajje Miadhu' program on Saturday evening, talking about marketing Maldives's tourism to the outside world.

Faisal said there are many people who are undecided about traveling due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the middle-east. Therefore, marketing needs to be strengthened, he said.

"I believe the MMPRC has a very capable managing director. And with the whole team, with the Ministry of Tourism, we are all working together and it is likely that [the number of tourists coming to Maldives] will increase to more than two million," he said.

He added that travel is increasing worldwide. Therefore, if marketed specifically for individual countries, the number of tourists coming to Maldives will increase significantly.

The minister said:

“... I am very optimistic that we can add enough tourists from China and reach over two million domestic arrivals by 2024, unless there is a major disaster or something in the world,” Faisal said.

Speaking on the TV programme, the minister said that around 12 brand new resorts are expected to open in the country next year, which will add around 1,000 beds.

Maldives has reached its target of 1.8 million tourists this month.