Minister of Tourism Dr. Abdulla Mausoom has stated that the Maldives needs to be continuously marketed as a travel destination in order to further develop the tourism industry.
Speaking to the media, Minister Mausoom said more work needs to be done to recover the tourism industry from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and increase the number of tourist arrivals. The minister praised the efforts to market the Maldives in order to increase tourist arrival numbers compared to the previous year. He noted the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) and the foreign ministry are working together to market the country and that current efforts should be focused on increasing involvement of Maldivians in tourism-related work and investments.
Statistics from the Ministry of Tourism shows over 500,000 tourists have visited the Maldives so far this year, with most tourists arriving from the UK followed by India. The government is holding events throughout 2022 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Maldives Tourism this year. The tourism ministry and stakeholders of the tourism industry are working to register 1.6 million tourist arrivals this year.