The Ministry of Finance has announced that the Green Fund’s balance stood at MVR 113 million at the end of March. This follows deposits totalling MVR 111 million in March alone.
The Green Fund is supported by a green tax, which is levied on tourists to finance environmentally sustainable initiatives. This tax applies to visitors staying in resorts, guesthouses, city hotels, and on safari trips.
According to the Ministry’s report, the Green Fund began the year with MVR 1.1 million. Deposits in January amounted to MVR 99 million, followed by February’s MVR 102 million, bringing the total green tax collected in the first three months of 2024 to MVR 113,842,019.40.
Official figures show resorts made the largest contribution, totaling MVR 102 million. Guesthouses followed with MVR 6 million, while hotels, safaris, and homestays contributed MVR 2.5 million, MVR 2.4 million and MVR 13,952.6 respectively.
Additionally, records from the Ministry of Finance show that MVR 19,892,682.9 from the Green Fund was allocated to various environmental projects during the same reporting period.
Established in 2016 under the Tourism Act of the Maldives, the Green Fund represents a concerted effort to address environmental challenges within the nation. The fund operates on a Green Tax levied on tourists, set at USD 6 per visitor per day for stays in registered tourist lodgings or hotels with 50 or more rooms, and USD 3 per visitor per day for stays in establishments with fewer than 50 rooms.
