Minimum USD 20 mil budget for MMPRC operations next year

The Minister of Tourism, Ibrahim Faisal, said on Thursday that the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) will be allocated a minimum USD 20 million budget for its operations in 2025.

At Thursday's press conference, the minister said MMPRC recently held budget discussions with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who gave a "very positive" feedback.

The minister also said that generally, MMPRC is allocated with a USD 10 million budget per year, but does not receive anywhere near the amount.

"I am confident that we can allocate a minimum of USD 20 million for MMPRC next year," Faisal said.

While highlighting the government levied Green Tax and TGST on tourism sector activities, the minister said that the budget of MMPRC is funded through one of these tax receipts.

He also said that the increased budget of MMPRC would enhance opportunity for the tourism board to explore additional markets beyond the traditional ones.

Despite increase in tourist arrivals, tourism revenue has been gradually dropping, which the minister noted and said the government is now holding stakeholder meetings to find solutions for this.

"Arrivals continue to increase, but revenue is declining, which is an issue. The tourism sector contributes USD 4.5 billion. If tourism revenue increases alongside 1.8 million arrivals, it is still a better economic outlook than attracting two million arrivals," the minister added.

Tourism statistics published on Wednesday indicates an annual arrival of over 1.2 million guests, with a total of 38,759 arrivals so far in August alone.

The Maldives expects a revenue increase of between 15 and 20 percent during the low season next year compared to the same period in 2024. Faisal said this can only be achieved with the support of everyone in the industry.

Faisal further said the current administration is ready to listen to the tourism industry's grievances and work actively to solve them. He added that the that the tourism industry expects unprecedented levels of growth in the next five years if industry stakeholders commit their support.

Faisal also stressed that the previous government is culpable for putting the Maldives in significant economic detriment and said the country's debt had risen to excessive levels during the former regime.

While noting the large affluent traveler market capable of paying for the luxury hospitality services the Maldives tourism industry provides, Faisal said it was important to explore such markets if the Maldives wishes to achieve its tourism objectives.