MALDIVES - Waving or drowning?

Financialexpress.com, January 07, 2007

The boom has ridden out the tsunami, which seemed at the time to threaten the entire industry. Nearly a quarter of the resorts had to suspend operations. Occupancy rates for 2005 fell to 64% from 2004’s 84%, but by last year had recovered. For hoteliers, the Maldives must indeed seem like paradise. One, recently transferred from Fiji, is still rubbing his hands in glee at the margins available on selling drinks. Mr Didi, however, insists that things are not as good as they look. High prices are largely a result of transport costs: “We make nothing in the Maldives except fish.”
Lonely Planet
That is why tourism makes up a big chunk of the Maldives economy—about one-third of GDP. This share will almost certainly rise. A further 53 resorts are at different stages of planning and approval. Malcontents still grumble that the potential is being squandered. Mohammed Latheef, an opposition leader, says the Maldives should be comparing its wealth with, say, Singapore’s rather than India’s.

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