Saeed says Maldives cannot depend solely on tourism as government pushes digital expansion

Maldives cannot rely solely on tourism to take its economy to a new level, Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed said on Tuesday evening.

PayPal was launched in the Maldives on Monday.

Saeed said tourism remains the country’s main source of income and the economy continues to depend heavily on it. Tourism is expanding more than ever, he said.

“...If we want to take Maldives’s economy to a higher level, we cannot rely solely on tourism,” he said.

Saeed said one of the government’s efforts to diversify the economy is to ensure that 15 percent of Maldives’s GDP comes from the digital sector by 2030.

He added that, in addition to PayPal, more digital tools will be introduced for young people, and a modern creator hub will be established before the government completes three years in office.

PayPal is a digital payment platform that allows individuals and businesses to send, receive, and manage money securely online. Users can create an account, link a bank account or payment card, and use PayPal to conduct business or transfer funds without directly sharing financial information.

Widely used worldwide, PayPal supports international transactions and e‑commerce businesses, offering a flexible and secure platform for online payments.

PayPal was launched in the Maldives through a partnership with Ooredoo Fintech.

Saeed reiterated that Maldives cannot rely on tourism alone, even though it is one of the country’s largest income‑generating industries. He noted that the Middle East war has led to a five percent decline in tourist arrivals.

According to statistics released by the Ministry of Tourism on Monday, 994,901 tourists have visited the Maldives so far this year. The country needs 5,099 more arrivals to reach one million. More than one million tourists had visited during the same period last year.

The decline in arrivals due to the Middle East war has affected the tourism industry and reduced the country’s dollar earnings.