An Insight for Investment: A Case on Maldivian Tourism Sector

Abstract

This study examines the Maldivian tourism sector from an investor’s view point. Data was collected from both primary sources as well as secondary sources such as information from Maldivian Ministry of tourism and Maldives High Commission – London. The period in consideration for the study is from 2010-2020. Financial forecast method is used in this study to forecast the tourism sector revenue. This study revealed that the resorts, hotels, guest houses and safari vessels are the establishment types with regards to Maldivian tourism sector where resorts contribute to 85% of the total sector revenue making it the highest contributor. Further, lifestyles, location, branding, food production and supply, technology, legislation and regulations, security and assets to be the drivers of the sector demand while location for target market, quality management, global outlook and flexibility act as critical success factors. Discussing the markets, China continues to be the top most contributor in terms of size of revenue and number of tourist visits and Asia pacific region tops the charts as the largest contributor in terms of tourist arrivals. Historically, tourism sector has shown an annual average growth rate of 29% over the past 3 years, from 2013-2015 while the author’s forecasted figures estimate the sector’s annual revenue would on average be 24% from 2016-2020.