ACADEMIC WRITING AND STUDY SKILLS

MASS TOURISM IN THE MALDIVES

October, 30 2020
Word Count: 1430
 ABC 1200 ACADEMIC WRITING AND STUDY SKILLS

Abstract

The following paper intends to describe the recent impacts of

mass tourism in the Maldives. Tourism industry is directly
related to the economy, to the environment, and the society as
well. Each three sections are explaining the main impacts
connected to the mass tourism. Firstly, it explains the
economical importance of tourism in the Maldives and
significant constructions that created a new chapter in the lives
of locals. Secondly, it lists the environmental problems, such as
the global warming and pollution. Furthermore, it gives
information about the living conditions of the local people. The
report ends with the conclusion, summarizing the main ideas
about the mass tourism in the Maldives. Finally, it provides
recommendations for future changes in the country. Lastly, this
paper offers solution to solve the mentioned problems in the
Maldives.

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Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................4
2. DISCUSSION ..................................................................5
2.1. ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF MASS TOURISM..........5-6
2.2. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF MASS TOURISM.7
2.3. SOCIAL IMPACTS OF MASS TOURISM.................8
3. CONCLUSION.................................................................9
4. RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................10
5. REFERENCES................................................................11
6. APPENDIX

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1. Introduction

Mass tourism is the movement of a large number of tourists

to popular destinations all over the world. This type of tourism
mostly focuses on vacations and leisure activities (Poon
1993). The Maldives is a famous destinations for tourists
lately, with 1192 islands grouped into 26 atolls. (Gossman
2019). The country made a strong growth in the tourism
sector with the high-class resorts.

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2. Discussion
2.1. Economic Impacts of Mass Tourism
To begin with, mass tourism has economic impacts not only
positively, but also in negative ways. The Maldives with a
population of 400.000 is highly dependent on tourism, with
nearly two-thirds of the nation’s GDP (Sharma 2020). According
to APAC Outlook (2019), Maldives is one of the world’s
financially poorest nations. Tourism is essential for Maldives.
There is a fast-growing division of the economy, and it can
attract the guests all-year-round. Scheyvens (2011) claims that
the number of resorts owned by locals is high because out of 97
resorts, 67 are owned by Maldivians.
Muqbil (2017) claims that the biggest construction project in the
country is the Malé International Airport. The construction
started at the end of 2015. They expect around two million
arrivals by the end of 2020. To achieve this target, the local
government needs funding from for example China, and Saudi
Arabia. He claims that the Chinese people will be the most
significant visitors.

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Figure 1
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Figure 1 from Maldives Monetary Authority (2020) shows the

„Tourist arrivals of the Maldives by nationality”. The bar chart
illustrates the nationalities that mostly visited the Maldives in
2019 and 2020 up to August. It can be seen that the Maldives
had the most visitors from China last year, but they had a
significant number of visitors from India. Until August 2020
mainly Italian tourists visited the Maldives, but the number of
Chinese visitors decreased.
Xinhua (2019) states that the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge
was a new section in the lives of Maldivians. They inaugurated
the bridge in August 2018. The bridge connects the Maldivian
capital of Male, and the neighboring island, Hulhule. By this
bridge, Maldivian people have more business options, and new
job opportunities, which is fortunate for economical growth.
On the other hand, the Maldives is also suffering from COVID-
19. According to Sharma (2020), it is no surprise that there is a
low number of infections in the Maldives. The reported cases
were mostly tourists or workers in the resorts. 90% of hotels
and resorts had to shut down because of the government’s
decision. The layer that is mostly affected is working-class
because they needed to take unpaid leave.

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2.2. Environmental Impacts of Mass Tourism

Gossman (2019) states that the Maldives are extremely
dependent on the natural environment. Outsiders generally only
see the extravagance resorts, not the real-life of Maldivians.
According to the Asian Development Bank (2007), the Maldives
mostly suffer from climate change, the management of waste,
and air pollution.
Gossman (2019) claims that the Maldives are one of the most
powerless nations to fight against climate change. The Maldives
is not responsible for it, but they have to be the main victims of
the devastation. Moreover, with natural disasters on the rise,
the Maldives have limited time to protect their islands.
According to IUCN (2018) waste was not a problem earlier.
Until the mid-80s, regular waste was organic. On the other
hand, by the tourists, the increasing production and by the
usage of plastic materials, it is not the same now.
The almost 1200 Maldives islands are mostly free from air
pollution, but the air quality in Malé is getting worse because
more and more people move to the city. The pollution is not
only because of the cars but also caused of the ferry network
which connects Malé to other atolls. To support getting out of
this problem, the government set up the National Action Plan on
Air Pollution (UN Environment Programme 2019).

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2.3. Social Impacts of Mass Tourism

The population of the Maldives is around 400.000 (Sharma
2020). According to Malsa (2018), the Maldives is one of the
most geographically dispersed countries. Uncontrolled
urbanization started when the citizens from smaller islands
decided that they want to move to the capital city, Malé because
they wanted to improve their quality of life. This drove to the
population decline on underdeveloped islands and increased
the inhabitants of Malé. The most serious social issue in Malé is
that most people live in rented houses. They can not afford to
buy a house, because the prices are high, while their income is
low.
Moreover, the healthcare system is also a significant social
issue in the Maldives. They have 2 hospitals and they work
inefficiently.
It is necessary that the government has to find a solution to
these serious problems because the tourists only see the bright
side of the island, not real life.

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3. Conclusion
In conclusion, the purpose of this report was to describe how
mass tourism impacts the Maldives. This popular destination
faces difficulties in all field of life because of their low level of
development. These islands are dependent on tourism, they
had the most visitors from China last year. With the China-
Maldives Friendship Bridge, Maldivian people got more job
opportunities, and it helps their economy. Moreover, the paper
identifies the environmental impacts, such as climate change,
or waste. Furthermore, the Maldivian people do not have an
easy life. Urbanisation is uncontrolled and also the health
system is weak in the Maldives islands.

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4. Recommendations
According to Malsa (2018) for Maldivian people, it is obvious
that the government has to do something to solve their
economical, natural, and social problems. There are several
potential ways to solve the issues. They have to decrease
the social problems in Malé, by cutting down the movement
from other islands to the capital city. The government can
provide essential services across the rest of the country.

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5. References

Gaia Discovery, 2019. Culture vs Tourism : The Maldives Lesson. [online]. Available
from: https://www.gaiadiscovery.com/latest-places/maldives-cultural-balance
[Accessed 3 November 2020].

GOSSMAN, P., 2019. Reckless Development Woesens Maldives’Environmental

Crisis. [online]. Available from: https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/12/13/reckless-
development-worsens-maldives-environmental-crisis [Accessed 3 November 2020].

IUCN, 2018. Garbage In, Garbage Out: Waste management in the Maldives. [online].
Available from: https://www.iucn.org/news/asia/201801/garbage-garbage-out-waste-
management-maldives [Accessed 3 November 2020].

MALSA, M., 2018. Paradise overcrowded: the other side of Maldives. [online].
Available from: https://edition.mv/report/7671 [Accessed 3 November 2020].

MUQBIL, I., 2017. Maldives about to enter mass tourism era – is it prepared?.
[online]. Available from: https://www.travel-impact-newswire.com/2017/07/maldives-
about-to-enter-mass-tourism-era-is-it-prepared/ [Accessed 3 November 2020].

POON, A., 1993. Tourism, Technology and Competitive Startegies. [online]. Available
from:
http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/11843/1/Naumov_Nikola_Green_David_SIP_2016_
Mass_tourism.pdf [Accessed 3 November 2020].

SHARMA, A., 2020. Coronavirus hits Maldives’ lucrative tourism industry. [online].
Available from: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-hits-maldives-lucrative-tourism-
industry/a-53131198 [Accessed 3 November 2020].

UN Environment Programme, 2019. Maldives gets out ahead of air pollution. [online].
Available from: https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/maldives-gets-
out-ahead-air-pollution [Accessed 3 November 2020].

XINHUA, 2019. China-Maldives Friendship Bridge refreshes Maldivian life. [online].

Available from: https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1163627.shtml [Accessed 3
November 2020].

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Appendix
Maldives Monetary Authority, 2020. Tourist arrivals of the Maldives by
nationality. [online]. Available from: https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-
Picks/Interview/Western-tourists-shrug-off-COVID-fears-to-play-in-the-
Maldives [Accessed 4 November 2020].

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