Minister of Finance Mr Ibrahim Ameer on Friday confirmed the tourist arrivals to the island nation will decline by 50% in July 2020.
Minister Ameer made the concerning statement during Friday’s press conference at National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) situated in Dharubaaruge convention center.
According to the minister, the border closure experienced everywhere in the world in light of the viral COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an abrupt and extreme drop in travelers.
Meanwhile, the global aviation industry faced a limbo amid the current crisis as international flight operations of all major carriers came to a halt with countries restricting travel.
This has further attributed towards the detrimental situation of the global economy.
Minister Ameer further highlighted the prime economic component of the Maldives, tourism industry had come to a complete standstill in light of the unprecedented changes to the global economy and the international traveler market.
Tourist arrivals to Maldives reflected a 1.11% drop in February of the current year in comparison with the same month last year, whereas in the March the arrival count dropped a staggering 63% in comparison with the corresponding month in 2019.
Maldives Minister of Finance had further commented, the state had envisioned a total of five worst case scenarios amid the current economic crisis, with regards to tourist arrivals.
According the minister, Maldives will likely experience the outcomes of a worse case scenario-3; in which state estimates the tourist arrival drop b y 50% and the bed-nights declining by 39 percent.
The worse case scenario-3 further entails that on arrival visas will not be issued even during the month of July and the tourist arrivals to Maldives will have reached a complete cessation.
Maldives government further speculated a three-month recovery period after the recommencement of on-arrival visas while tourist markets on which travel restrictions have been placed will observe a 97% drop in recovery.