A study conducted by the Maldives National University (MNU)’s research team in collaboration with Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has estimated that 10,595 tourists will visit the Maldives this month.

The study, which focuses on the impacts of COVID-19 on the tourism industry, showed that a combined total of 10,595 tourists will visit the Maldives in the worst case scenario. While 11,172 tourists are expected next month, the number of tourists is expected to fall to 9,430 in September before climbing back up to 11,373 in October. 11,058 tourists are expected to visit in November, and 13,738 tourists in the last month of the year.

The combined model results of the study further shows 450,134 tourists are expected to visit Maldives during the current year. Over one million tourists are expected when a basic model is considered, the study showed.

The participants of the survey - tourism businesses- said a revenue of USD 4.1 million is expected this year, a steep decline of 25 percent from the revenue generated in the previous year. 42 percent of the 246 respondents said the revenue generated this year will be less than USD 100,000, while 3 percent of respondents said they expected a revenue between US$ 15 million to 20 million. Only 2 percent of respondents expect a revenue between 40 to 50 million.

The Maldives closed its borders to tourists on March 27 as a precautionary measure against COVID-19. The number of tourists who visited the Maldives during the first quarter of the year is 382,760, a decline of 40.8 percent compared to the 646,092 tourists that visited the archipelago during the first quarter of 2019.

As per MNU’s study, tourists will spend 9,6 million nights in the Maldives in a best case scenario. The number of nights are not expected to exceed 2.3 million in a worst case scenario.

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