Beyond Tourism: The evolving narrative of Maldives’ growth

The Covid-19 pandemic brought global tourism and travel to a standstill. Although the health impact of the pandemic has been fairly contained in Maldives, its economic consequences for the tourism-dependent economy have been devastating. To contain the spread of the virus, the country closed its borders for the first time in history, between March 27 and July 15, 2020. This led to a sudden stop in tourism – the main driver of growth, jobs, and revenues.

But with the virus now contained and more than two thirds of the country’s population fully vaccinated, tourists have been steadily returning since late 2020. After an 18-year record low visitor number of just 555,494 in 2020, the country attracted 1.3 million visitors in 2021. Maldives has also successfully attracted tourists from new and emerging markets to supplement shortfalls in arrivals from previously high-performing markets like China. India and Russia were the leading markets in 2021, accounting for 22.1 percent and 16.8 percent of total tourists, respectively.