The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has announced that all major sectors of the economy recorded significant growth during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, attributed to an overall increase in national output.

The MMA's economic performance report indicates that national output, as measured by GDP, is expected to increase in the first half of 2025. The report attributes this growth primarily to the construction and real estate industries and the tourism and fisheries sectors. However, it also notes that a slight deceleration in wholesale and retail trade activity may dampen the overall pace of expansion.

Tourism demonstrated exceptional performance in the first quarter, with tourist arrivals reaching the highest ever recorded in a single quarter in the country’s history. A total of 632,422 tourists visited the Maldives during this period, representing an increase of 5 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2024 and 15 per cent over the fourth quarter of the same year. Despite this surge, total bednights fell by 2 per cent. The decline was particularly evident in the resort segment, where bednights dropped by 9 per cent. By contrast, guesthouses and hotels registered increases in occupancy compared to the same period in the previous year.

Visitor demographics revealed a 9 per cent increase in arrivals from China, an 8 per cent rise in Russian tourists, and a 12 per cent growth in visitors from the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, the number of operational resorts rose by 5 per cent in the first quarter, reaching a total of 174. Resorts now account for 69 per cent of the country’s total tourism bed capacity, while guesthouses represent 22 per cent.

The construction and real estate sectors also posted substantial growth during the first quarter. Compared to figures from the first quarter of 2018, the contribution of real estate to national output through price increases rose by 10.5 per cent. Imports of construction-related goods climbed by 16 per cent year-on-year, signalling heightened activity in the sector. Additionally, commercial bank lending to construction increased by 13 per cent, largely driven by loans for residential housing developments. Lending also rose for other types of private construction projects.

The fisheries sector, which had previously recorded a 71 per cent decline in its contribution to national output in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to 2023, began to recover in early 2025. Based on MMA data, the sector experienced renewed momentum in the first half of the current fiscal year. Fisheries companies procured 24K metric tonnes of fish during the first quarter, representing a 5 per cent increase over the same period in the previous year. This growth was partly supported by a 7 per cent rise in skipjack tuna catch. The average price of fish during the quarter ranged from MVR 14 to MVR 16 per kilogram.  MMA noted that the decline in prices was primarily due to the termination of MIFCO’s earlier fixed-price purchasing policy.

Conversely, the wholesale and retail trade sector showed signs of deceleration. Imports of goods rose by only 1 per cent during the first quarter. More notably, lending by commercial banks to the sector declined sharply by 32 per cent, although the sector’s share of national output had grown by 3.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2024.