World's 'most beautiful' archipelago raises 2025 tourist arrival forecast to record 2.3 million

By Hoang Vu August 18, 2025 | 03:22 pm PT

Tourists ride around a resort in Maldives. Photo by Bui Trang Nhung

The Maldives, which topped a ranking of world's most beautiful islands by readers of U.S. magazine Travel + Leisure last year, has revised its 2025 tourist arrival forecast to a record 2.3 million visitors.

The new target was up from the projection of 2.2 million arrivals for the year made by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) in May, state-run PSM News reported on Sunday.

The revision follows strong performance in the first half of the year, with international arrivals rising 9.1% year-on-year to 1.1 million.

MMA attributed the growth to favorable market conditions and recent infrastructure upgrades, including the opening of the new passenger terminal at Velana International Airport.

Tourism remains the Maldives' largest source of foreign exchange, with 2 million visitors recorded last year.