Author: Mohamed Reehaan

Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) took part in the recently ended Tourism Expo Japan 2023 alongside 10 co-exhibitors. The expo, organized by Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), is one of the largest annual travel festivals in the world bringing global players and stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality scene. MMPRC promoted Maldives as a top tourist destination with the aim of revitalizing the number of Japanese tourists traveling to the Maldives.

Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (MNPHI) confirms it will announce the final recipients of the second phase of the Gedhoruveriya and Binveriya social housing schemes before the end of the presidential term. Over 40,000 people applied for the social housing schemes’ second phase which included 21,247 applications for Gedhoruveriya, which grants housing units in Greater Male’ region, and 19,347 applications for Binveriya; seeking land plots. However, with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s presidency winding up on November 17, the government earlier did not provide details about the decision for the second phase recipients. The Minister of State of MNPHI…

Onion prices in the Maldives market has once again surged significantly, reaching MVR 400 per sack. In the Maldivian market, onions are currently sold at prices between MVR 390 to MVR 400 per sack, while a kilogram is sold between MVR 20 to MVR 25. Before the recent price inflation, onions were sold at MVR 12 and MVR 15 per kilogram. A local vendor said prices of onion rose due to the rise in purchase cost from foreign vendors. Maldivian vendors currently spend MVR 365 per sack to purchase from India, which is an MVR 50 increment from the previous…

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has ordered Urbanco against selling plots from Hulhumale’ during the transitional period of the Maldives government. The commission made the demand in response to concerns raised by President-elect’s Office stating that Urbanco was selling plots from the town during the government’s transition. President-elect’s Office on Sunday, October 29, said that it has learned Urbanco’s next board meeting has at least 40 items related to land transactions in Hulhumale’ on its agenda. The office demanded Urbanco not to proceed with the transactions sometime on Sunday. However, the corporation did not disclose details of these transactions. Last year the…

According to Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), the central bank of the country, a total of 1.2 million bank cards have been issued since the initiation of card issuance by Maldivian commercial banks, with 74% of the total issued cards still remaining active. As per MMA’s payment bulletin, 48% of the debit cards issued in the Maldives are VISA cards, while 24% are Mastercard and the remaining 22% are American Express (AmEx) cards. VISA cards also make up 64% of the credit cards issued in the Maldives with 28% being AmEx cards. Mastercard constitutes 99% of the prepaid cards issued by…

Maldives government generated a revenue of MVR 1.18 billion in September 2023, reports Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA). According to MIRA, this revenue total inclusive of USD 49.62 million is a 15.8% drop compared to the same month in 2022. The authority said this drop is mainly due to the decrement in collection of Tourism Land Rent, GST, Non-resident Withholding Tax and Corporate Income Tax. Payment deadlines of GST and Green Tax were extended to the first week of October as the government declared the initial deadline as a public holiday, which led to the significant drop to the monthly…

Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has participated in the ITB Asia 2023 alongside 27 industry partners. The event was held at Sands Expo & Convention Center, Singapore, from October 25 to 27. The ITB Asia expo is considered as one of the region’s leading travel B2B trade shows, designed to be the primary event for the Asia Pacific travel industry. The event features thousands of exhibitors from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East. MMPRC marketed the Maldives by promoting the country’s tourism products (resorts, hotels, guesthouses, liveaboards) and the diversity of unique experiences…

Aasandha, the government-initiated health insurance scheme, has introduced a new verification step requiring pharmacists or pharmacies to enter an OTP sent to the customer’s phone before issuing medication for prescriptions. A number of pharmacies in Male’ region have already started using this method. Information including the phone number and national ID card of the customer is acquired before sending the OTP. The prescription is filled only after the OTP has been received and entered into the system. Aasandha Media official Ashiya Solih said this arrangement was made in response to complaints from public. She said that the public have raised…

Government’s losses and write-offs reached MVR 374 million as of October 12, which is thrice more than originally budgeted for 2023. The Ministry of Finance in its most recent Weekly Fiscal Development said the budgeted total for losses and write-offs in 2023 is MVR 101.2 million; which indicates the actual expenditure for the component has already observed a 270% increase. It was reported that the budget allocated for losses and write-offs exhausted completely by the first half of 2023. The government’s losses and write-offs in its recurrent expenditure include compensations provided to public companies and other contractors. According to the…

JLL has reported an impressive USD 1.9 billion in hotel sales over the last two decades in the Maldives. The real estate conglomerate and prominent broker in its “Maldives Investment Guide” said that Maldives is a resilient destination that has withstood “multiple global crises.” JLL noted that Maldives witnessed a shift in international visitation patterns as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic led border closure of China. Noting the visitation pattern change, JLL observed the remarkable growth of India at 1.8 times year-on-year, which eventually helped the market to surpass China as the leading source market in 2022. JLL further…