The 'Hopeful' Golden Year of Tourism

This year marks 50 years since tourism was introduced in the Maldives and the industry has come a long way from its humble beginnings when George Corbin, an Italian travel agent met 'Kerafa' Ahmed Naseem, then based in the Maldivian embassy in Sri Lanka. The rest, as they say, is history, and the industry has developed to offer some of the most luxurious and unique services available in the world today. 

Of course, 2020 was supposed to be the year when the industry reached never-before seen heights, with arrivals reaching 1.7 million in 2019 and hopes hence high for the year. The pandemic wreaked havoc on all plans, with the country having to go into a lockdown mid-year. With the lockdowns and travel restrictions announced across the world, the Maldives saw a 67 percent decline in arrivals compared to 20219. 

2021 ended with a bang for Maldives tourism, with arrivals far exceeding estimates, which were revised upwards at various points during the year. The government and the industry, with sheer effort, quick thinking, precautionary measures, and smart branding decisions managed to keep the industry, and hence the country, afloat. The year ended with 1.3 million arrivals, a 138 percent increase over arrivals in 2020, and close to the 1.7 million arrivals registered in 2019. 

The pandemic also resulted in a major shift in the Maldives' tourism markets. Whereas China had taken the top spot in 2019, the border restrictions imposed in the country with its zero-Covid-19 policy, saw the spot taken by India in 2020, followed by Russia and then the European markets that have traditionally been the Maldives' top source markets. 

India, which had been showing improvements in market share since 2010, being a short haul market and with the establishment of a travel bubble between the two countries, maintained the top position in 2021, registering 291,787 arrivals by the end of the year. The Indian market held 22 percent of the Maldives' tourist arrivals market share, followed by Russia, accounting for 16 percent of arrivals. Other markets such as Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, France and Italy, as well as the United States, held market shares in the single digits. 

The Maldives also added to its array of tourism products in December 2021, through the introduction of home-stay tourism. Moorithi House in Dhiggaru, the 'rihaakuru island,' opened its doors on 1 January, with six beds, to much fanfare. The initiative holds much promise, with the objective on delivering on the government's promises of ensuring the benefits of the multi-billion-dollar industry is within the reach of the common man.  

Welcoming the first tourist arrival for the year, the Ministry of Tourism and the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) announced a target of 2 million tourist arrivals or 13 million bed nights for 2022. The year started with promise, with arrivals between 1 to 5 January higher than pre-pandemic 2019, but lower than the same period in 2020, a time when the world did not know what it had in store. 

In terms of the top 10 markets for the same period, Russia had the top spot, with a 27.3 percent share, followed by Italy and Germany. The Indian market had declined to 4th place. A proper analysis, however, can only be done after more statistics come through from the industry.  

With China's zero-COVID-19 policy, and the increase in the number of COVID-19 case across the world with the new Omicron variant, the future looks uncertain, however. The Indian Government has announced that all international arrivals to the country will be required to undergo a seven-day quarantine on arrival. According to industry sources, the industry is seeing an increase in the number of cancellations from the Indian market as well as other markets. With the Indian market, given that it is mostly a "last minute" market, where bookings are made last minute, it is the new bookings rather than cancellations that will be a good indicator of where things stand. COVID-19 cases in the United States, another important market for the Maldives, as well as Europe, including eastern Europe, have also increased, although reports now indicate that the peak of the current wave may have passed, both for the US and Europe. China, however, is not expected to re-open its borders in 2022.  

With the COVID crisis not yet over, and the advent of new variants, the future is anybody's guess. It is hoped that with increased marketing campaigns, stringent safety measures and attentive staff, as well as the unique geography of the country allowing for "quarantine" tourism, will keep the buoyancy seen in the past year going. However, it all depends on what other countries implement as part of their COVID-19 protocols.