Finance Minister Hassan Zareer has said that tourist arrivals to the Maldives this year are not expected to match the figures recorded last year.
Presenting the proposed budget for the coming year to the People’s Majlis, he noted that the initial tourism targets set for this year are now unlikely to be achieved.
"Although we no longer anticipate reaching the arrival figures previously projected for 2026, we estimate that total arrivals by year-end will remain close to the levels seen in 2025," Zareer said.
The current year's budget was formulated on the assumption of 2.4 million tourist arrivals, which was expected to generate MVR 11.4 billion in Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST).
However, Tourism Ministry statistics show that 1.7 million tourists have visited the Maldives so far this year. This is 66,034 fewer arrivals compared to the same period last year. Total tourist arrivals for the entirety of last year stood at 2.25 million.
If arrivals fail to reach last year's levels, it will mark the end of a five-year trend of consistent year-on-year growth in the Maldives' tourism sector.
The government has now revised its projections, estimating that 2.17 million tourists will visit the Maldives by the end of this year.
In the budget submitted to Parliament today, the government forecasts that tourist arrivals next year will range between 2.28 million and 2.5 million.
Zameer attributed the decline in tourist arrivals to the geopolitical tensions and conflict involving Iran.
