Nearly Half of This Year’s Tourists Stayed in Kaafu Atoll, Tourism Ministry Figures Show
Kaafu’s 770,644 guests to 21 October were 46% of those recorded at resorts, hotels and guesthouses. Arrivals remain 3.2% behind 2025, but October’s shortfall has narrowed to 0.9%.
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Kaafu Atoll accommodated 770,644 tourists this year up to 21 October, nearly half of all those recorded at resorts, hotels and guesthouses, according to the Tourism Ministry’s latest weekly update.
That was 46.4% of the 1,662,604 tourists the ministry recorded at land-based accommodation. Kaafu, the atoll around the capital, Malé, has 25,258 of the country’s 64,889 land-based tourist beds, or 38.9%.
The update, Issue 40, was published on 22 October with figures as of 21 October.
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The next busiest atolls were Alifu Dhaalu, with 137,040 tourists, and Raa, with 136,808. The four least visited were Thaa (2,427), Faafu (4,310), Haa Dhaalu (4,446) and Laamu (5,081).
| Atoll | Tourists to 21 October | Tourist beds |
|---|---|---|
| Kaafu | 770,644 | 25,258 |
| Alifu Dhaalu | 137,040 | 6,404 |
| Raa | 136,808 | 4,958 |
| Alifu Alifu | 116,371 | 4,780 |
| Baa | 93,368 | 5,090 |
| Lhaviyani | 84,109 | 3,446 |
Kaafu’s beds are split between 15,516 in resorts, 7,978 in guesthouses and 1,764 in hotels. Its guesthouse beds are 47% of the national total of 16,946.
Across the country, resorts accommodated 1,255,175 tourists, or 73.9% of arrivals, and guesthouses 369,151, or 21.7%. Hotels took 38,278 and tourist vessels 32,301.
Step Back
Total visitor arrivals reached 1,728,760 by 21 October, 3.2% fewer than the 1,785,861 recorded by the same date in 2025, the update shows. The total includes 1,697,716 tourists, 15,461 business visitors and 15,583 cruise passengers.
Arrivals in the first 21 days of October were 125,739, 0.9% below the same period last year. For the first 14 days of the month the gap had been 3.9%, as Maldives Today reported.
China remains the largest market, with 324,039 tourists, or 19.1% of arrivals, followed by Russia with 245,294 and the UK with 129,752. Germany, Italy and India complete the top six.
Accommodation choices vary by market. Of Chinese tourists, 27.2% stayed in guesthouses, against 8.6% of British tourists. Spain, the tenth-largest market, sent 44.6% of its tourists to guesthouses.
The country had 1,300 registered tourist facilities with 68,963 beds as of 21 October, and 99.0% of those beds were in operation. In operation were 180 resorts, 934 guesthouses on 113 islands in 20 atolls, 17 hotels and 165 tourist vessels.
Velana International Airport handled 1,693,413 of this year’s visitor arrivals, or 97.9%, according to the update.
