President Solih aims for 5 million annual tourists

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate and incumbent president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has shared his vision to attract three million annual tourists during his second term, and increase the annual tourist arrival number to five million.

President Solih made this announcement while addressing residents of Thaa atoll Vilufushi. His visit to the atoll is part of his presidential campaign leading up to the election scheduled for September 9.

President Solih said that the government is dedicating significant efforts to boost tourist arrivals to the Maldives and double the country's economy. He emphasized that a key strategy to achieve this goal is to enhance and upgrade the Velana, Gan, and Hanimaadhoo international airports.

He further said that besides redeveloping the three main airports in the Maldives, tourist movements within the country will be enhanced through Raajje-Transport Link (RTL) high-speed ferry service and the development of regional airports.

"Through this approach, we envision that annual tourist arrivals to the Maldives will exceed three million by 2028, and our target is to achieve five million arrivals annually," President Solih said.

The president said that in 2018, the Maldives welcomed 1.4 million annual tourist arrivals. The government's current goal is to receive 1.9 million arrivals by the end of 2023, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. He expressed confidence in meeting this year's tourist arrival target.

President Solih said that the government spent USD 3 million per annum for tourism promotion before he assumed presidency, which had since increased to USD 10 million.

"Previously, everything was left to the private sector with minimal government involvement. However, since assuming office, we have tripled the expenditure, and during the upcoming term, we intend to increase the annual tourism promotion budget to USD 15 million," he said.

President Solih further announced his administration's strategy to expand the number of tourist beds across the southern and northern regions of the Maldives, aiming to accommodate the surge in tourist arrivals. He highlighted that during his first term, the government successfully raised the operational bed capacity by an additional 3,000 beds.

In 2018, President Solih promised that the expansion of the tourism industry's capacity would contribute to elevating the Maldives' economy from USD 80 billion to USD 170 billion.