Leading publisher and organizer of events in travel and tourism sector in the Asia Pacific region since 1974, TTG Asia has stated that their optimism is high in the Maldives inbound sector following the change of government.

In an article published on Wednesday, the media outlet wrote that optimism is further “buoyed by hopes” for a “fattened tourism budget” under President-elect Solih’s fresh administration.

Noting that the joint opposition coalition, who are to take over the leadership in November, has promised to increase the destination marketing budget by 400%, TTG Asia wrote that industry officials have estimated a five percent growth in arrivals this year.

Citing the President of the Guesthouse Association of Maldives (GAM), Ahmed Karam, TTG Asia said that the industry expects arrivals performance of this year to match that of 2017’s, with Karam having pointed out that the rising bed count could pose a problem.

Noting that less than USD one million was spent on destination promotion under the administration of the outgoing President Abdulla Yameen, Karam stated that it should have been more given the increasing number of beds and resorts.

Citing Andrew Ashmore, chief commercial officer at Coco Collection Hotels & Resorts, TTG Asia wrote “The EU, the US and India have (reacted) favorably on the result and this buoyancy may actually help tourism”.

Also noting that President Yameen has been ousted since he lost his bid for re-election in September, TTG Asia wrote that this has “contributed to an overall buoyant mood in the inbound sector”.

President of the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators, Abdulla Ghiyas had earlier said that tourism has been picking up in the past few months with new resorts opening.

“Flights are also coming in and the forecast is looking good,” TTG Asia cited Ghiyas.

The article also stressed that tourist arrivals, particularly from China, in the country had plummeted following the nation-wide state of emergency that was declared in early February.