National Tourism Day: President calls on locals to uphold friendliness and promote peace

One of the keys to Maldives' continued success in the tourism industry is locals maintaining their friendliness and peacefulness, said President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu today.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on the occasion of National Tourism Day, President Muizzu said the foundation of tourism is friendliness. He also wrote that friendliness, kindness, peace and safety must be sustained for the progress of the country's tourism.

While Maldives celebrates 52 years of service in the tourism industry today, the country has been visited by over 1.4 million tourists just this year.

Tourism has been a long-standing top earner for the Maldives and also the highest tax paying local industry. By August this year, MVR 6.6 billion was paid in Tourism Goods and Service Tax (TGST), while MVR one billion was paid in resort lease fees.

Maldives operates about 62,000 beds at the moment, out of which 43,000 beds are in resorts and 15,000 are in guest houses. According to the latest data, the country has 182 resorts and 795 operational guest houses.

Maldives' main goal for this year is to welcome two million tourists.