Maldives Tourism
The sandy beaches of Maldives make tourism a major source of
income.
Courtesy Gloria Garcia
Because of its clear waters, distinctive corals, and
sandy
white beaches, Maldives has many features to attract
tourists. As
a result, tourism by 1989 had become the country's major
source
of foreign exchange, surpassing fishing. In 1992 tourism
income
constituted 17 percent of GDP. Furthermore, tourism is
expected
to increase as the government infrastructure improvement
projects
in the areas of transportation, communications,
sanitation, water
supply, and other support facilities are put into place.
Since the 1970s, approximately fifty resorts, mostly
consisting of thatched bungalows, have been built on many
uninhabited islands on Male Atoll. In 1990 a dozen new
resorts
were under construction on Maldives. In the following
year,
196,112 tourists visited Maldives, primarily from Germany,
Italy,
Britain, and Japan in that order.
Tourist facilities have been developed by private
companies
and in 1991 consisted of sixty-eight "island resorts" with
nearly
8,000 hotel beds. Tourists are not allowed to stay on Male
so as
not to affect adversely the Muslim life-style of the
indigenous
people. Wilingili Island has also been off limits for
tourist
accommodation since 1990 to allow for population overflow
from
Male to settle there.
Data as of August 1994
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