The proposed state budget for 2026 has allocated MVR 273 million for the government's travel expenses.
It is believed that most of this amount will be spent on domestic travel. President Mohamed Muizzu has been making frequent trips to the atolls.
These atoll trips are expected to account for a large portion of the travel budget next year as the government campaigns for the local council elections.
The travel budget includes MVR 45.9 million for domestic air travel and MVR 65.9 million for domestic sea travel. The estimated cost of road transport is MVR 8.3 million. This is a total of MVR 120 million on domestic travels.
The approved state budget for 2025 includes MVR 249.1 million for travel. However, the budget was revised with MVR 280.7 million to be spent on travel this year.
According to the latest figures released by the Finance Ministry, the government spent MVR 219.9 million on travel as of October 23.
The government is expected to spend MVR 92 million on overseas trips in 2026. The amount allocated for overseas trips in 2025 is MVR 102 million.
The President’s Office has refused to disclose the expenses of Muizzu's last four overseas trips despite a policy on providing this information to ensure transparency.
The government pledged to announce the expenses of the President's trips within 15 days of returning to the country.
Muizzu took the initiative to disclose the expenses of trips as a step to increase government transparency. He made the announcement on December 2, 2023 and said information will be provided by the President's Office.
