Tourist arrivals to the Maldives rose by 15 percent in June 2025 compared to the same month last year, with 141,772 visitors recorded over the 30-day period. The steady climb in numbers bucks the usual trend of a quieter off-season and signals continued strength in the country’s flagship sector.
With daily arrivals averaging around 4,726, June’s growth follows a 13.1 percent rise in May, keeping the year’s tourism figures on a clear upward path. Total arrivals for the first half of 2025 now stand at over 1.1 million, up 9.1 percent from the same period in 2024.
However, the increase in volume raises a key question: is the growth being felt across the industry, or is it concentrated in lower-cost accommodation?
Resorts still dominate market share, accounting for 72.4 percent of all arrivals in 2025 so far. But guesthouses now make up 22.5 percent, nearly a quarter of the tourism market, while hotels and safari vessels together hold less than 6 percent. With guesthouse capacity having expanded steadily in recent years, there’s growing interest in whether these mid-year numbers reflect a genuine rise in resort bookings or simply more budget-conscious travellers choosing guesthouses in local islands.
The top markets remain largely unchanged, with China leading at 12.7 percent, followed by Russia (11.4 percent) and the UK (9.8 percent). These are markets with different spending patterns, which could be influencing where tourists stay and how much they contribute to the broader economy.
The Maldives is entering the second half of 2025 with momentum, but it remains to be seen whether these trends will carry through to the high season and whether the distribution of tourist spending is as balanced as the arrival numbers suggest.
