Maldives drops sharply in The Telegraph’s ranking of world’s most popular destinations

The Maldives has fallen significantly in this year's list of the world's most popular destinations, as chosen annually by the renowned British daily broadsheet newspaper, The Telegraph.

For 2025, the Maldives has been ranked eighth in the list.

New Zealand has been named the world’s most popular country, according to The Telegraph. The ranking is based on votes from nearly 20,000 readers who participated in the 2025 Telegraph Travel Awards.

The newspaper has also noted with surprise the extent to which the Maldives' popularity has declined.

"In the past six years of The Telegraph Travel Awards, readers have ranked the Maldives either second or third, never lower - so falling to eighth place is a significant drop compared to previous years."

The Telegraph pointed to rising costs as a key factor behind the Maldives’ drop in popularity. Many travelers no longer see the Maldives as an affordable option, with increasing prices prompting tourists to consider other sunny beach destinations like Dubai, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia instead.

Despite ranking eighth, the Maldives is still noted as the most popular destination for beach relaxation among readers. The article points out that the next highest-ranking famous sand and sea destination is Mauritius at 18th place. It also mentions that the Caribbean's most popular such destination, Barbados, remains at 31st place, consistent with previous years.

While the Maldives has dropped significantly in The Telegraph's list of most popular destinations, the government has announced that a partnership has been established between the famous English club Liverpool FC and the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) to promote the Maldives, making the country the club's official tourism destination partner.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, along with a high-level Maldivian delegation, made a trip to the United Kingdom in April to launch the promotional campaign in collaboration with Liverpool FC.

The government has stated that the partnership will greatly increase the Maldives' global visibility, attract more high-end tourists to the country, and bring significant economic benefits to the nation's tourism industry.