Author: Mohamed Reehaan

The latest updates from Ministry of Tourism confirm that the total number of tourist arrivals to the Maldives as of 19th January reached 82,478. Moreover, the arrival count as of the review period is a 48.0% improvement over the same period in 2021 during which the arrival count reached 55,729. However, compared to the same period in 2020 it is still 26.15% below since in 2020 the arrival total by the period stood at 107,288. On the other hand, the arrival total for 2022 is 7.73% below pre-pandemic level since the arrival total for the same period in 2019 stood…

Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/Visit Maldives) has launched a campaign with News UK in order to strengthen the island nation’s popularity in the UK markets as a holiday destination. According to the tourism promoter, the destination promotion campaign will run for a duration of one-month from January to February 2022. The collaborator of the campaign, News UK is a mass media company which distributes news through conventional newspapers as well as through websites and broadcasting. Moreover, they are the current publishers of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun. Under the campaign, articles about the Maldives including…

The weekly revenue update from Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) confirms a weekly revenue total of MVR172,636,370 from 09th to 15th January 2022. Meanwhile, the weekly revenue total for the first week of the year from 02nd January to 08th January stood at MVR163,608,635. According to the weekly update, state had collected a total of MVR28,761,378 in non-resident withholding tax for the review week and MVR23,368,871 in corporate income tax/business profit tax. In addition to this, state has collected MVR22,353,889 in Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) and another MVR17,026,702 in General Goods and Services Tax (GGST). Apart from tax…

According to the latest updates from Ministry of Finance, the Weekly Fiscal Developments report confirm that Maldives state had spent MVR380.6 million as of 13th January 2022. On the other hand, by the same review period Maldives government has earned a cumulative total of MVR330.4 million. Expenditure composition reveals 65% of the total spent on recurrent needs and the remaining 35% on capital expenses. The revenue composition confirms 65% of earnings to state came from tax sources and the remaining 35% from non-tax sources. The overall balance for the period is a deficit of MVR50.2 million, owing to higher expenditure…

The national airline of the island nation, Maldivian has signed with France’s ATR to acquire three new of the brand’s aircraft. The airline has decided on increasing its flight capacity in light of several of its old aircraft being grounded for maintenance. It has been reported that the grounded aircraft remain in unfavorable conditions and sufficient repairs on them will take questionably lengthier durations. In addition to this, the aircraft used by Maldivian currently have become obsolete models since its manufacturer had ceased production of the said models. Meanwhile, amid the operational setback Maldivian was forced to charter flights from…

The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) has confirmed on setting the permitted catch limit of yellow-fin tuna from the Indian Ocean region for 2022. Moreover, the international authority had further claimed that the confirmed limit for the current year is 47,195 metric tons worth of yellow-fin tuna. This makes the the Indian Ocean region’s yellow-fin tuna catch limit the second highest after the permitted limit for the European Union in the European region. Meanwhile, it has been reported that the authority set the limitations based on the data on yellow-fin tuna caught in 2020. IOTC has attested that the catch…

Luxury tourist resort, Sirru Fen Fushi announced on winning five distinct titles at the Haute Grandeur Global Awards 2021. The Haute Grandeur Global Awards is a unique awarding event in comparison with many other similar events for exclusively basing its criteria on quality feedback from the guests. The awarding event represents more than 172 countries across 7 continents under 32 categories. During the most recent awarding event, Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi won the following accolades; Best Honeymoon Resort on a Global Level Best Overwater Villa Resort in Indian Ocean Best Resort Spa on a Global level – Willow Stream…

State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) has commenced supplying water for the general use of the island’s residences. According to the state-owned electricity company, STELCO commenced supplying water to the residences, from water purified through the company owned two RO plants. The plants were developed by STELCO earlier while the water supply service commenced on Sunday, 16th January 2022. As of right now, the RO plants and the water systems lack direct connections to the residencies thus requiring the locals to collect water from the storage unit taps installed outside the RO plants. Furthermore, STELCO had confirmed that the RO plant…

Canareef Resort Maldives situated in Addu atoll has reopened once again following a hiatus in closure. Operated and managed by Singapore origin Crescendas Group, the tourist resort with over 270 villas was closed down temporarily due to the Covid-19 viral outbreak. The unprecedented closure of the resort resulted in significant job losses. Meanwhile, the luxury resort at the southern-most atoll is reopening mostly due to the support and assistance provided by the government according to Canareef’s General Manager. Earlier, it was reported that the resort would reopen in December 2021. However, owing to some unforeseen circumstances the reopening was pushed…

Kuda Vilingili Maldives has showcased the resort island virtually for luxury travel agents and consultants from German speaking markets. Moreover, it was reported that over 60 industry partners joined the video call via Zoom on 12th January 2022. The virtual tour is part of the resort’s strategic marketing and promotional activities planned for the year. The Commercial Director of Kuda Vilingili Maldives, Mr. Amjad Thaufeeq commenced the virtual tour inspection while he provided an overview of the resort, highlighting the resort’s proximity to Velana International Airport (VIA) – the country’s prime air gateway. Through the tour, several features and facilities…