The Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) has disputed the World Bank's attribution of declining rates of income and GDP growth to tourists choosing cheaper guesthouses over expensive resorts.
In the “South Asia Development Update” report released last month, the World Bank downgraded Maldives GDP growth in 2024 to 4.7 percent from the previous forecast of 5.2 percent, which it said, “partly reflects a shift in tourism activity from high-end resorts towards lower-cost guesthouses.”
But MATATO challenged the World Bank’s forecast in a statement released on Tuesday. The downturn was indicative of a broader imbalance between supply and demand within the tourism sector, MATATO contended in the statement.
“Furthermore, MATATO highlights a drop in Average Daily Rates (ADR) across the entire industry and a lack of strategic marketing efforts to stimulate demand and address the excess supply,” the statement read.
Other observations by MATATO
- Of the 62,822 tourist beds in the Maldives as of November last year, only 51% of available beds were occupied during the year
- The average duration of stay declined from 8.1 days in 2022 to 7.6 days in 2023
- The resurgence of global inflation, coupled with the reopening of competitive beach destinations that were shuttered during the covid pandemic and remained closed until late 2021, intensified competition against the Maldives.
- Tourism revenue declined by MVR 2.5 billion in 2023 compared to 2022
Moreover, MATATO noted that the World Bank's report only considered data up to the third quarter of last year, which it said would not provide a fuller picture of the whole year.
