The Maldives expects to welcome about the same number of tourists this year as it did in 2025, Tourism Minister Mohamed Ameen said on Sunday, as arrivals recover from a sharp decline linked to the war in the Middle East.
Speaking at the Ahaa forum, where members of the public can question cabinet ministers and senior officials, Minister Ameen said the tourism sector had started the year more strongly than in 2025.
Tourist arrivals grew by 5 percent in January and 18 percent in February, but fell by 24 percent over the following three months amid the conflict in the Middle East.
That decline has since narrowed to 1.3 percent, Minister Ameen said, crediting the tourism industry and government efforts for the recovery.
“The current forecast is hopefully almost on a par with last year by the end of this year. Or it will be slightly better,” he said.
Minister Ameen described matching last year’s total as a significant achievement, given the three-month downturn.
The Maldives welcomed 2.2 million tourists in 2025, a record for the country. About 1.6 million had visited so far this year, meaning a further 600,000 arrivals would be needed over the final three months to match last year’s total.
That would require an average of about 200,000 arrivals a month. The Maldives received 603,000 tourists during the final three months of 2025.
Arrivals in the first 10 days of October were 3.6 percent lower than during the same period last year, while September arrivals fell by 0.2 percent, according to the figures cited.
Minister Ameen said comparisons were now being made with 2025, the year that recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals in the Maldives.
He also pointed to improvements in civil aviation safety standards and an increase in the number of airlines operating in the country. The latest audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) gave the Maldives an aviation safety score of 79 percent, he said.
“With the improvement of aviation safety and security in Maldives, a lot of European carriers came to Maldives,” Minister Ameen said, referring to the record 2.2 million arrivals last year.
