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Maldives braces for gloomy tourist season

Fathmath Shaahunaz
06 October 2016, MVT 08:49
Promotional poster for Maldives tourism used in the "Visit Maldives Year 2016" tourism promotion campaign. PHOTO/VISIT MALDIVES
Fathmath Shaahunaz
06 October 2016, MVT 08:49

Numbers are expected to drop for tourists arrivals in the Maldives in the upcoming tourist season compared to the past years, stated officials of the tourism industry.

The main tourist season in the Maldives begins November and covers the winter season in the northern hemisphere, lasting until April the following year. Resorts around the archipelago usually reach full occupancy as visitors arrive for their Christmas vacations and to celebrate the New Year. However, resort occupancy has not reached full capacity this year unlike 2015 and the previous year.

A manager of an international luxury brand resort in the Maldives told Mihaaru that the upcoming three months look bleak based on the current booking rates. The manager noted that the resort has had to resume its promotions, divided throughout the year, even as the tourist season approaches to lure more guests.

“Even last-minute bookings aren’t increasing. At this rate, it looks like the occupancy rate will be 50 to 60 percent during the [tourist] season as well.”

An official of Villa Hotels and Resorts, a local firm that operates five resorts, also reported low booking rates for this season compared to the past two years. Villa also expressed doubt that last-minute bookings will cover the vacancies.

“I don’t think we will be fully booked this time.”

Travel agencies and tour operators also share the concerns raised by the resorts. Travel Maldives’ managing director Abdulla Latheef noted that newly opened luxury resorts have begun offering half-price discounts, for instance slashing suite tariffs from USD 8000 per night to USD 4000.

“These haven’t been done before. It’s obvious that things won’t improve during the season,” said Latheef.

The Villa official attributed the dismal numbers of tourists to the economic lull currently befallen Europe, one of the key markets of Maldives tourism.

The official also noted that while China is currently the largest market for the archipelago, the Chinese New Year is towards the beginning of the year which marks the highest tourist influx from the Asian super power. Hence, numbers from China now only reach the peak at January end or February. However, the official expressed doubt that resorts will reach full occupancy this time due to the recently declining Chinese market.

Tourists warmly welcomed with souvenirs on the occasion of World Tourism Day at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport. PHOTO: NISHAN ALI/MIHAARU

“We’re not seeing any positive turns in occupancy rates at any of the resorts. It might be high in some months and very low in others. It’s not consistent.”

Whereas China has been the largest and most consistent market for Maldives tourism over the past five years, tourist arrivals from the Asian giant have greatly declined this year. Arrivals from China by July end this year was 194,220, an 11.6 percent decrease from last year which recorded 219,641. China which had dominated 40 percent of the island nation’s tourism is now at 26.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the European market has begun improving after being at a low for a number of years. Tourist arrivals from the continent were recorded at 327,099 by the end of July this year, which is an increase of 6.4 percent from last year’s 307,338. With this improvement, the European market currently accounts for 44.8 percent of the Maldives’ tourism.

“So, it is possible that the seasons will improve over the coming years,” said Latheef of Travel Maldives.

Despite the string of new resorts currently unveiled across the nation this year, tourism itself is at a lull. Whereas the industry had shown an annual progress of six percent over the years, Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s statistics show that the industry’s progress during the first half of this year was only 1.8 percent. The number is only a small improvement from last year’s 1.3 percent, the lowest tourism had hit in recent years.

The Maldives has abandoned hope of luring the projected 1.5 million tourists by the end of this year, revising the number to 1.4 million, the same as 2015.

The government had also celebrated the arrival of 750,000 tourists last August. However, questions have been raised as to the veracity of this claim, further exacerbated by the tourism ministry’s ongoing delay in publicising the monthly tourist arrival statistics for August and September.

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