Minister of Tourism and Environment Thoriq Ibrahim has stated that more than 7,000 beds have been added to the national tourism industry since November 2023.

He made the remarks during a media briefing held at the President’s Office, where the Ministry provided updates on ongoing tourism initiatives. The Minister said that since President Dr Mohamed Muizzu assumed office on 17 November 2023, a total of 7,195 beds have been added to the country’s tourism inventory.

Thoriq said the largest share of new capacity over the past two years came from the guesthouse sector. During this period, 4,062 guesthouse beds were added, alongside 1,554 beds from resorts, 503 from liveaboards, 708 from hotels and 368 from homestays.

The Minister also outlined tourism business licences issued in 2025. The Ministry granted licences for 43 resorts, 280 guesthouses, 122 dive centres and 14 hotels during the year.

He further noted that development is underway on 168 islands designated for resort projects. Of these, seven resorts are expected to be completed and opened in 2026, contributing more than 1,000 additional beds to the resort segment. The Minister added that continued growth in guesthouse and liveaboard registrations is supporting the expansion of national bed capacity.

Minister Thoriq said the Government is working towards increasing total tourism receipts to USD 6 billion by the end of 2027.