TOURISM STATISTICS IN THE MALDIVES Ms. Maryam Gasim Deputy Director General, Ministry of Tourism

Overview Maldives at a Glance Tourism in the Maldives Inbound Tourism Accommodation Statistics Arrivals Statistics Revenue & Expenditure Statistics

The Maldives - at a Glance Started in 1972 One island one resort concept Free visa on arrival No restriction on any nationalities Contributes to 30% of the GDP Main source of foreign exchange Major employment generator

Contribution to GDP

Bed capacity contribution by types of accommodation Inbound Tourism Bed capacity contribution by types of accommodation (end October 2014)

Inbound Tourism Major Source of inbound tourism statistics Arrival/departure card (monthly/annual) Maldives Visitor Survey (biannually)

Inbound Tourism Ministry of Tourism,(MOT) publishes Monthly Quarterly Annual Monthly data provided to MOT by Department of Immigration & Emigration Data collected through arrival/departure cards of immigration

Inbound Tourism Data collected from Arrival/Departure Card Arrival Nationality Gender Age (D.O.B) Place of Residence Purpose of visit Length of stay Departure Place of stay in Maldives

Inbound Tourism Arrival/Departure Card

Inbound Tourism Arrival data available by Nationality Gender

Inbound Tourism Tourist Arrivals 1972 - 2013

Inbound Tourism Major Markets to the Maldives Europe (42.9%) Asia & Pacific (49.9%) Americas (3.2%) Middle East (3.2%) Africa (0.7%)

Major Top 5 Markets – end October 2014

Inbound Tourism Maldives Visitor Survey Exit survey Conducted biannually (peak season and off-peak season) Targeted for tourists only

Inbound Tourism Data collected through Maldives Visitor Survey Nationality Country of residence Duration of visit Purpose of visit Perception of tourists about the services.

Inbound Tourism Some of the findings from Maldives Visitor Survey June 2014

Revenue & Expenditure Statistics Tourism Receipts compiled by the Maldives Monetary Authority (Central Bank) for the purpose of Balance of Payments Previously used a model based estimation Includes tax returns and expenditure made by tourists in the resorts, souvenir shops, local transport, etc… Calculations were mainly based on a small scale survey

Revenue & Expenditure Statistics Coverage of Services account improved Goods and Service Tax (GST) and Business Profit Tax (BPT) introduced in 2011 Administrative records or Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) to be used for the estimation of tourism receipts

Thank you!