{"id":16871,"date":"2026-04-02T18:11:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871"},"modified":"2026-04-02T18:11:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:11:14","slug":"macl-duty-free-gan-international-airport-new-terminal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871","title":{"rendered":"MACL Moves Into Duty-Free Retail at Gan Airport, Eyes Tourism Growth in Southern Maldives"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has kicked off plans to launch a premium duty-free business at the new terminal of Gan International Airport in Addu City.<\/p>\n<p>The move signals a major commercial push into the southern Maldives. More importantly, it opens the door for luxury retail at one of the region&#8217;s key aviation hubs.<\/p>\n<p>MACL says the new duty-free operation will upgrade the travel experience at Gan International Airport. At the same time, it will unlock fresh business activity in the south and support faster tourism-led growth.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, the project fits into a wider national strategy. The government wants to expand the Maldivian economy, reduce overreliance on traditional tourism zones, and build stronger commercial activity across the islands.<\/p>\n<p>Gan&#8217;s new terminal now sits at the center of that plan.<\/p>\n<p>With duty-free shopping on the way, MACL aims to draw more travelers to the southern region. In addition, the company wants to help airlines open new international routes into Addu City. That could give southern Maldives a stronger position in the global travel market.<\/p>\n<p>The economic impact could stretch well beyond the airport.<\/p>\n<p>MACL says the venture will create new jobs for young people in Addu and nearby islands. Furthermore, the company plans to train selected staff overseas with leading global brands. That step could raise service standards, strengthen retail skills, and prepare a local workforce for high-end travel retail.<\/p>\n<p>The company sees the project as a key milestone under the &#8220;Addu Welcomes to the World&#8221; vision. That vision focuses on diversifying Addu City&#8217;s economy and creating new engines of growth.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, the duty-free rollout supports the government&#8217;s broader goal for Maldivian travel retail. Officials want the sector to meet international benchmarks, deliver sustainable growth, and lift the profile of southern Maldives as a serious destination in the global aviation and tourism network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has kicked off plans to launch a premium duty-free business at the new terminal of Gan International Airport in Addu City. The move signals a major commercial push into the southern Maldives. More importantly, it opens the door for luxury retail at one of the region&#8217;s key aviation hubs. MACL<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2423,2508,2464,2428,2506],"tags":[162,165,754,1242,1263],"class_list":{"0":"post-16871","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"category-latest-news","9":"category-local-news","10":"category-public-sector","11":"category-top-stories-block","12":"tag-aviation","13":"tag-aviation-industry","14":"tag-gan-international-airport","15":"tag-macl","16":"tag-maldives-airports-company-limited"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>MACL Launches Duty-Free Plans at Gan Airport&#039;s New Terminal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MACL has started preparations for duty-free operations at Gan International Airport&#039;s new terminal in Addu City\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MACL Launches Duty-Free Plans at Gan Airport&#039;s New Terminal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MACL has started preparations for duty-free operations at Gan International Airport&#039;s new terminal in Addu City\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Maldives Business Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mvbiztimes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-02T13:11:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Duty-Free.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mohamed Reehaan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mvbiztimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mvbiztimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mohamed Reehaan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mohamed Reehaan\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#\/schema\/person\/a0eedc1134716e7c8e4da095494670c2\"},\"headline\":\"MACL Moves Into Duty-Free Retail at Gan Airport, Eyes Tourism Growth in Southern Maldives\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-02T13:11:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871\"},\"wordCount\":323,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Duty-Free.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Aviation\",\"Aviation Industry\",\"Gan International Airport\",\"MACL\",\"Maldives Airports Company Limited\"],\"articleSection\":[\"BUSINESS\",\"Latest News\",\"Local News\",\"PUBLIC SECTOR\",\"TOP STORIES - Block\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871\",\"name\":\"MACL Launches Duty-Free Plans at Gan Airport's New Terminal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Duty-Free.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-02T13:11:14+00:00\",\"description\":\"MACL has started preparations for duty-free operations at Gan International Airport's new terminal in Addu City\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Duty-Free.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Duty-Free.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"MACL Moves Into Duty-Free Retail at Gan Airport, Eyes Tourism Growth in Southern Maldives\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/\",\"name\":\"Maldives Business Times\",\"description\":\"Maldives Business Times delivers timely and in-depth English news on business, economy, and breaking events in the Maldives.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Maldives Business Times\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/background_removed_image_x5KLRjOsQMGL6jgPS4Hiew.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/background_removed_image_x5KLRjOsQMGL6jgPS4Hiew.png\",\"width\":1312,\"height\":736,\"caption\":\"Maldives Business Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mvbiztimes\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/mvbiztimes\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#\/schema\/person\/a0eedc1134716e7c8e4da095494670c2\",\"name\":\"Mohamed Reehaan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac0f3a9111db774c387735910f0eeee4432a0db79cc936fe00f3f0fb05f1af6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac0f3a9111db774c387735910f0eeee4432a0db79cc936fe00f3f0fb05f1af6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mohamed Reehaan\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?author=4\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"MACL Launches Duty-Free Plans at Gan Airport's New Terminal","description":"MACL has started preparations for duty-free operations at Gan International Airport's new terminal in Addu City","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"MACL Launches Duty-Free Plans at Gan Airport's New Terminal","og_description":"MACL has started preparations for duty-free operations at Gan International Airport's new terminal in Addu City","og_url":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871","og_site_name":"Maldives Business Times","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mvbiztimes","article_published_time":"2026-04-02T13:11:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Duty-Free.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mohamed Reehaan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@mvbiztimes","twitter_site":"@mvbiztimes","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mohamed Reehaan","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871"},"author":{"name":"Mohamed Reehaan","@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#\/schema\/person\/a0eedc1134716e7c8e4da095494670c2"},"headline":"MACL Moves Into Duty-Free Retail at Gan Airport, Eyes Tourism Growth in Southern Maldives","datePublished":"2026-04-02T13:11:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871"},"wordCount":323,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Duty-Free.jpg","keywords":["Aviation","Aviation Industry","Gan International Airport","MACL","Maldives Airports Company Limited"],"articleSection":["BUSINESS","Latest News","Local News","PUBLIC SECTOR","TOP STORIES - Block"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871","url":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871","name":"MACL Launches Duty-Free Plans at Gan Airport's New Terminal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Duty-Free.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-02T13:11:14+00:00","description":"MACL has started preparations for duty-free operations at Gan International Airport's new terminal in Addu City","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Duty-Free.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Duty-Free.jpg","width":1280,"height":720},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?p=16871#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MACL Moves Into Duty-Free Retail at Gan Airport, Eyes Tourism Growth in Southern Maldives"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/","name":"Maldives Business Times","description":"Maldives Business Times delivers timely and in-depth English news on business, economy, and breaking events in the Maldives.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#organization","name":"Maldives Business Times","url":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/background_removed_image_x5KLRjOsQMGL6jgPS4Hiew.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/background_removed_image_x5KLRjOsQMGL6jgPS4Hiew.png","width":1312,"height":736,"caption":"Maldives Business Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mvbiztimes","https:\/\/x.com\/mvbiztimes"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#\/schema\/person\/a0eedc1134716e7c8e4da095494670c2","name":"Mohamed Reehaan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac0f3a9111db774c387735910f0eeee4432a0db79cc936fe00f3f0fb05f1af6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac0f3a9111db774c387735910f0eeee4432a0db79cc936fe00f3f0fb05f1af6c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mohamed Reehaan"},"url":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/?author=4"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16871"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16873,"href":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16871\/revisions\/16873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mbt.mv\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}