While the economy of the Republic of Maldives is primarily driven by the tourism industry, India has been the world’s largest tourist market for the country between December 2020 and June 2023, according to the Ministry of tourism (MoT) Maldives.
According to the recent statistics released by MoT Maldives, India stood second with 18,905 Indian tourists arriving in the nation in November 2023 alone, accounting for 11.6% of total visitors.
India jumped from fifth to second position in 2019, with 1.66 lakh arrivals, nearly twice of 2018. When Covid-19 hit the hospitality and tourism industries worldwide in 2020, the Maldives welcomed around 63,000 Indian visitors.
India remained the biggest tourist market in 2021 and 2022, with approximately 2.91 lakh (23% market share) and 2.41 lakh (14.4 % market share) arrivals, respectively. India became the second most significant source of tourists to the Maldives in 2023, accounting for 18.3 lakh tourist arrivals (as of November 2023) and holding a 10.9% market share, as Maldives Tourism Ministry data showed.
Around 25% of the Maldives’ GDP is derived directly from tourism, with the remaining 75% coming from secondary sources. More than a third of Maldivian employment prospects are directly related to the tourism industry, and if other related industries are included, the industry’s proportion of overall employment — both direct and indirect — rides to almost 70%.
HOW DOES INDIA PROVIDE SUPPORT MALDIVES IN VARIOUS SECTORS?
According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), eight infrastructure projects, including the Water and Sanitation on 34 islands Project, the Hanimadhoo International Airport Redevelopment Project and the Gan International Airport Redevelopment Project, were signed to support the Maldives’ tourism industry.
The Water and Sanitation on 34 Islands project aims to enhance the water supply and sewerage facilities on 34 designated islands. The Airports Authority of India has produced DPRs for these Hanimadhoo and Gan International Airport Redevelopment projects, which have been funded by the GoI.
India has always been the Maldives’ partner in the development of human resources across all industries. Many Indians work in the hospitality and tourism industry on different islands and resorts as technicians, engineers, managers, accountants and other roles. Following a tendering process in March 2021, four Indian contractors were awarded six packages for the infrastructure project.
However, the Maldives also earns significantly from its agriculture and fishing industries. Since February 1974, the State Bank of India has been a key player in their economic growth by offering credit support for the development of island resorts, export of marine products and commercial ventures, as per the Ministry of External Affairs.
Based on the latest figures provided by the MoT Maldives, from January to November 2023, Russia accounted for the biggest share of visitors visiting the Maldives (191,167 and 11.4% of the total), followed by India (183,371 and 10.9), China (175,592 and 10.4%), the United Kingdom (1,38,721 and 8.2%) and Germany (122,704 and 7.3%).
The Republic of Maldives is made up of 1,190 islands distributed over 348 square miles in the Indian Ocean over 20 atolls.
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