Guesthouses on local islands are now experiencing higher demand than resorts, according to new statistics released by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment.

As of Monday, 788,650 tourists had visited Maldives this year. Of those, 70 per cent stayed at resorts, while 24 per cent chose guesthouses. Hotels accounted for 3 per cent of stays, and tourist vessels represented 2.5 per cent.

Despite resorts hosting the majority of visitors, guesthouses are currently in higher demand when measured by the number of tourists per registered bed. Guesthouses average 13.6 tourists per bed, while resorts average 12.8.

Tourists per registered bed, by accommodation type:

Rates on Booking.com show relatively low prices across both resorts and guesthouses. Some guesthouses offer rooms for as little as USD40 per night, with most priced under USD100. Resorts also list rooms starting at USD200 per night.

The data also highlight strong performance from European markets. Four of the top five source markets for tourist arrivals are in Europe.

Top five tourist arrival markets so far in 2025:

The Tourism Ministry forecasts a record 2.3 million arrivals in 2025. Last year, the Maldives surpassed two million tourists for the first time since launching its tourism industry in 1972. To date, more than 30 million tourists have visited the country.