Maldives resorts cut rates to match guesthouse pricing

Some of Maldives' resorts have reduced their room rate on popular foreign booking websites. Some resorts charge as little as $100 per room per night, excluding taxes and fees.

“Something has happened to the resorts,” former Guesthouse Association President and K. Maafushi Council President Ahmed Karam told Atoll Times on Thursday.

Karam said the way resorts have been doing tourism business has changed dramatically. In his view, resorts no longer have many of the easy way of doing business they used to have.

"The resorts have always done a very easy business. They have reduced supply over demand, sell 30% to travel agencies at the beginning of each year and take payment for the whole year. It was easy for them," Karam said.

"Now there are foreign hotel chains in Maldives. It has become a challenge for the resorts that have not been upgraded."

Some resorts even have full board packages listed for as low as $150. However, this is not because there is a problem with the service, according to reviews and website ratings and Karam's stories.

A World Bank report late last month found that many tourists are now choosing cheap guesthouses instead of expensive resorts. With that, the World Bank predicts that the growth of the tourism industry will change dramatically.