Newsroom
Maldives hospitality industry news
Desks: Openings, Refurbishments, Tenders & procurement, Regulation & duties, People moves, Aviation & transfers, Industry. Every story links to the sources it was written from.
Latest
- Fifteen resort sites are open for bids, with offers due 17 to 23 November — Tenders & procurement, 2026-11-11. Four government tenders cover 10 lagoon plots, three halal-tourism sites and two islands across six northern and southern atolls.
- Vilamendhoo reopens on 15 November after a six-month renovation — Refurbishments, 2026-11-11. The South Ari Atoll resort closed on 1 May for refreshed rooms, guest facilities and sustainability work.
- Bill to scrap the 17% tax on overseas tour operators clears committee — Regulation & duties, 2026-11-11. The tax on foreign sellers of Maldives stays has applied since 1 October and remains law until a repeal bill is passed, ratified and gazetted.
- Arrivals pass 1.8 million for 2026 but trail last year by about 3% — Industry, 2026-11-11. Figures to 4 November show 1,803,749 international visitors, against 1,858,995 at the same point in 2025.
- Six luxury resort projects, about 419 keys, and openings spread to 2028 — Openings, 2026-11-11. Bvlgari and Rosewood list 2027, Aman and Corinthia list 2028, and Mandarin Oriental and Baccarat give no year.
- Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa names Patrick Krauth general manager — People moves, 2026-11-11. Krauth joins from Andaz Peninsula Papagayo in Costa Rica after a career in Hyatt food and beverage.
- Emerald Faarufushi promotes its resort manager to general manager — People moves, 2026-11-11. Rajeshwar Rao K has run day-to-day operations at the Raa Atoll resort since January 2024.
- Resorts face tighter dollar rules as the Monetary Authority and tax office press for compliance — Regulation & duties, 2026-11-11. A 40 per cent currency-conversion requirement has applied since 1 September, and MIRA said on 11 November that it is already auditing resorts.
- Government sets up a state-owned company to develop resorts for all citizens — Regulation & duties, 2026-11-11. The wholly state-owned company is to develop and operate resorts under a plan for at least 10 in three years, with profits shared among Maldivians.
- Manhattan Grand Hotel opens in Hulhumalé with 162 rooms — Openings, 2026-11-11. The five-star hotel completes a project the State Trading Organisation began in 2007 and left unfinished for years.
- Maldives Traveller Declaration now needs an email code — Regulation & duties, 2026-11-11. From 9 November, foreign travellers must enter a one-time password sent to their email before the form can be submitted.
- Sun Siyam Vilu Reef adds a beach club and an Italian restaurant — Openings, 2026-11-11. YAYA Beach Club and Tuscany arrived with the resort's 28th anniversary celebrations in late October.
- Veligandu Maldives earns a MICHELIN Key — Industry, 2026-11-11. The resort announced that it holds One MICHELIN Key in the guide's 2026 hotel selection.
- SO/ Maldives promotes Shahid Ibrahim to resort manager — People moves, 2026-11-11. It is his third leadership role at the resort since he joined in February 2025.
- Bandos Maldives reports HACCP food-safety compliance and Green Globe recertification — Industry, 2026-11-11. The resort cites solar panels covering about 30 per cent of its daily energy needs and a refillable-bottle scheme.
- Maldives plans a halal tourism framework within three to five years — Regulation & duties, 2026-11-11. The High Commissioner to Malaysia says standards, regulations and certification are central, and that Malaysia's experience will inform the work.
- Study of Russian travellers: 72 per cent of those visiting the Maldives are first-timers — Industry, 2026-11-11. A Yandex Ads white paper, produced with MATI and Visit Maldives Corporation, says more existing demand is turning into bookings.
- Maldives targets 2.5 million visitors in 2027 under Visit Maldives Year — Industry, 2026-11-11. The 2027 budget assumes about 2.28 million arrivals and adds more than 200,000 through a year-long promotion launched at WTM London.
- Jean-Luc Naret joins Aman as general manager for Amanolu Maldives — People moves, 2026-11-11. The former head of the Michelin Guide returns to the Maldives for Aman's first resort in the country, which he says opens in late 2027.
- Soneva names Teddy Susanto Wiryawan general manager of Soneva Jani — People moves, 2026-11-11. He moves from Vakkaru Maldives, where he was general manager from November 2024 to October 2026.
- Bank of Maldives opens its payment gateway to small businesses selling overseas — Industry, 2026-11-11. MSMEs can apply from 1 November to take card payments from customers abroad, settled in US dollars.
- Tourism tax and green tax revenue both rise so far this year — Industry, 2026-11-11. Tourism GST brought in MVR 8.87 billion to 22 October, up 5.7 per cent, according to the Finance Ministry's latest weekly fiscal report.
- Velana opens Terminal 2 to international check-in for the winter season — Aviation & transfers, 2026-11-11. Ten airlines moved their check-in to the terminal from 25 October, so both of the airport's passenger terminals now serve international travellers.
- S7 Airlines starts Novosibirsk flights to the Maldives, twice a week — Aviation & transfers, 2026-11-11. The first service landed at Velana on 30 October, adding a direct link from Siberia as the winter season begins.
- MFLC becomes the Maldives' first national entity accredited to the Green Climate Fund — Industry, 2026-11-11. Hotelier Maldives says the accreditation could help hotels and guesthouses pay for cleaner, more efficient operations.