President Mohamed Muizz has decided to allocate part of the revenue from tourism taxes to boost tourism in the Maldives, Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal announced on Saturday.
Faisal stressed on Sangu TV that the main challenge in promoting tourism in the Maldives is the lack of budget. However, after discussions with President Muiz, the president has decided to address these budget constraints.
Pointing out that tourism is the state’s largest source of revenue, Faisal said, “A certain percentage of the annual revenue from the green tax, namely the Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST), will be earmarked for tourism promotion.”
“With this change, we expect that MMPRC will receive a budget of approximately US$20 million to US$25 million (MVR 307 million to 383 million) next year for marketing and promotional activities.”
He said the MMPRC and the Ministry of Tourism would jointly carry out special activities to promote tourism in new markets.
The Minister also said that the results of MMPRC’s efforts to promote tourism in the Maldives will be evident within the next eight months.
This year’s budget allocates MVR 154.2 million for the promotion of the country. Budget constraints have prevented the country from participating in some fairs and tourism promotion activities.
