Gov’t aims to increase revenue from tourism to USD 7 billion

Minister of Tourism Ibrahim Faisal has revealed that the government aims to increase the revenue generated through the tourism industry to USD 7 billion, during this tenure.

Speaking on a programme aired on PSM News, Minister Faisal reiterated the government’s goal of boosting the revenue generated from tourism. The tourism industry contributes the greatest portion of the state revenue. The Minister stated that the government has adopted plans to boost the revenue to USD 7 billion, adding that efforts are also underway to increase tourist arrivals to four million annually.

Furthermore, Minister Faisal emphasised the efforts to increase the tourist arrival from China and India. He said that while over 200,000 Chinese tourists have visited the Maldives, the aim is to increase the number of tourists welcomed from China to 300,000, breaking the 2019 record. In 2019, the Maldives welcomed a total of 284,000 tourists from China. This represents the largest influx of tourists from the Chinese market to date.

While arrivals from India was lower than average for the year, arrivals from India have increased in the past few weeks. Minister Faisal expressed optimism that this trend will continue during the upcoming high season.