Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has revealed that the Maldives tourism industry has been affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The quarterly business survey conducted by MMA shows that 45 out of 64 surveyed tourism businesses responded to the question regarding whether their revenue and bookings in the first quarter have been negatively impacted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Around 72% of the businesses answered YES while 24% answered NO.
Additionally, the tourism businesses that answered ‘yes’ to the question were asked what percentage of their revenue was lost from the Russian market in the first quarter, compared with the forecast for the same period. Around 34% of the companies stated that less than 10% of their revenue was lost, while 34% stated that the revenue loss was between 10-25%, and 2% of the companies stated that the revenue loss was between 25-50%.
Furthermore, the companies were asked what the percentage of an expected decline in revenue from the Russian market in 2022 was due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, compared with the initial forecast for 2022. Around 44% of companies stated that they expect a decline in revenue of less than 10%, while 36% of companies stated that they expect a decline in revenue of between 10-25%, and 10% of the companies stated they expect a decline of 25-50%. A further 4% of companies stated they expect a decline in revenue of more than 50%.
The statistics from the Ministry of Tourism show Russia is the third-largest source market this year with 56,000 tourist arrivals and 10% of the market share. The tourism ministry has stated that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will impact the Maldivian tourism industry.