The Maldives aims to increase the number of annual tourists visiting the country to four million, and boost tourism revenue to $7 billion, Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal has said.
Speaking to the state media, Minister Faisal said the government is working to significantly increase the revenue from tourism. If the government’s strategies are implemented correctly, the current adminitraton’s five years term will conclude with an increase of 3.5 million or four million tourists a year, he said.
So far this year, the Maldives has received 1.4 million tourists, an increase of 9.6 percent from the same period last year. While a total of 1.8 million tourists visited the Maldives last year, it is estimated that two million tourists will visit the Maldives this year.
The minister said the government is focused on increasing tourism revenue.
“We will be able to increase the $4.5 billion that the tourism industry is contributing to the economy to about $7 billion by the end of this government,” Faisal said.
