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Dubai: Island nations, including the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Seychelles, are counting the cost of a disrupted Middle East travel corridor, as fewer international tourists make their way through the Gulf to some of the Indian Ocean’s most popular holiday destinations.
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For the Maldives, the impact has been particularly sharp because the country relies heavily on Middle Eastern aviation hubs to bring visitors from Europe and other Western markets.
Abdulla Yasir, CEO and managing director of Visit Maldives Corporation, told Gulf News the disruption that began on February 28 had a major impact on the country’s tourism industry.
“The Middle Eastern conflict has affected us very badly,” Yasir said. “For a long time, we relied on the Middle Eastern corridor for Western tourists to come to the Maldives.”
He said the first half of the year was difficult, although the destination is now seeing signs of recovery.
“We are on a path to recovery now,” he said, adding that the Maldives hopes to close 2026 “a little bit closer” to last year’s numbers.
Gulf gateway
The vulnerability is not simply about tourists from the GCC.
The Gulf’s role as an aviation hub means disruptions can affect travellers from much farther away who use Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and other regional gateways to reach island destinations.
That has been particularly important for the Maldives’ European market.
As of August, the Middle East accounted for just under 6 per cent of Maldives arrivals, according to figures cited by Visit Maldives during the interview. The organisation said the Middle Eastern contribution had improved from the levels seen earlier in the year.
The wider Gulf market remains important, with Saudi Arabia identified as the Maldives’ leading source market within the Middle East. The organisation said about 30,000 tourists from GCC countries had visited the Maldives by August.
But the bigger issue for the islands is the Gulf’s role as a transit point.
“GCC is a transit hub for all of Europe and Africa and America,” Yasir said.
Maldives hit
The disruption came after a record 2025 for the Maldives.
“The Middle Eastern conflict has affected us very badly,” Yasir said.
“For a long time, we relied on the Middle Eastern corridor for Western tourists to come to the Maldives.” He said the disruption that began on February 28 had a significant effect on tourism during the first half of the year.
“For the first half of the year, we struggled as a result of that, and we are on a path to recovery now,” he said.
The country crossed two million tourist arrivals earlier than ever before last year and had set a higher target for 2026. By September, arrivals stood at 1.49 million, according to the Ahmed Afruh Rasheed, creative director at Maldives Corporation.
The organisation remains optimistic that arrivals will cross two million this year, but has acknowledged that the original 2.5 million target will not be reached.
The Maldives is now looking towards its traditional peak travel period, from November to February, for a stronger recovery.
“We are expecting it to be fully recovered by the festive season,” Yasir said, referring to a return to normal expected hotel forecasts rather than the higher growth target originally set for the year.
New routes
One of the Maldives’ responses has been to reduce its dependence on the Middle East corridor by pursuing more direct connections from other source markets. China, Russia and India have received greater marketing focus, while direct connectivity has expanded.
“Australia was the big surprise,” Yasir said, adding that it has moved into the Maldives’ top 10 source markets since direct flights from Melbourne were launched.
“Since we launched in June, all seats are booked up until December,” he said. A direct Melbourne route launched in the middle of the year has helped push Australia into the Maldives’ top 10 source markets, according to Visit Maldives. Direct services from Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore are also part of the strategy.
“We’ve had a lot of meetings with carriers, and we are talking to them to sort of expand our media campaigns and partnerships,” he said.
“Also, to add extra connectivity, add extra flights. So that’s something that’s happening that we are talking as we speak,” said Yasir.
The organisation is also looking at more European direct routes.
And from October, direct services from Vietnam to the Maldives are expected to begin, with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City mentioned during the interview.
Qatar Airways is also increasing its Maldives operation. The airline currently operates 12 flights a week, with plans to move to three flights a day, or 21 flights a week, from October 25.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is seeing a similar effect among European travellers, although its overall tourism market remains more resilient.
Nalin Jayasundera, president of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators and a board director of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, told in a seperate interview that arrivals were down about 2 to 3 per cent over the first eight months of 2026.
The decline was concentrated among European source markets, where many travellers use Gulf carriers and hubs to reach Sri Lanka.
“The main dip is coming from the European source markets,” Jayasundera told Gulf News at ATM 2026.
He said many European travellers stop in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Qatar before continuing to Sri Lanka, and recent disruption has made some travellers more hesitant to use that routing.
The country’s tourism industry expects the European shortfall to gradually correct by next winter, while the Asia-Pacific market is continuing to grow.
Sri Lanka recorded 2.36 million tourist arrivals in 2025 and is now targeting three million visitors, according to Chamila Jayarathna, deputy managing director of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.
Seychelles
Seychelles has also experienced a significant decline in arrivals during 2026, although July provided a small improvement.
The island nation recorded 31,628 visitors in July, up 1.8 per cent from the same month in 2025. However, arrivals for January to July stood at 197,983, down 11.4 per cent from 223,475 during the same period last year, according to the Seychelles News Agency.
The decline was particularly pronounced earlier in the year, with arrivals falling 37.2 per cent year-on-year in March and 28.4 per cent in April.
The disruption coincided with the impact on flights through key Middle East aviation hubs, which are important transit points for travellers heading to Seychelles.
Europe remains the island’s biggest tourism market. It accounted for 64.3 per cent of July arrivals, while Asia contributed 21.8 per cent.
The UAE is also an important repeat market: Emirati residents provided the largest number of repeat visitors to Seychelles in July, with 386 returning travellers.
More flights
For the Maldives, restoring connectivity remains central to the recovery.
The destination has been in discussions with airlines about adding capacity, expanding marketing partnerships and opening new routes.
Direct seasonal services from airlines including Edelweiss, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways are also expected to increase around the festive and peak travel period, according to Visit Maldives.
The Maldives is also investing in airport infrastructure. The new terminal at Velana International Airport has been operating for nearly two years, while Hanimaadhoo International Airport has been expanded to support more passengers and direct international routes.
2027 push
The Maldives is already looking beyond this year’s recovery.
Visit Maldives has set a target of three million tourists for 2027, with the destination preparing for a year-long programme of marketing and events under Visit Maldives 2027.
The initiative will mark 10 years since the previous Visit Maldives campaign and will run from January through December.
“We’ll put our best show next year,” Yasir said, describing plans for more local events, cultural experiences and activities across the islands.
The country is also preparing for more hotel supply. The Maldives currently has around 67,000 beds, with several major international brands in the pipeline, including Aman, Rosewood, Mandarin Oriental and The Royal Atlantis. The properties are expected to open by 2028, although individual opening dates will be announced by the operators.
Beyond luxury
While the Maldives remains an aspirational luxury destination, Visit Maldives says its accommodation offering now stretches from entry-level guesthouses to ultra-luxury resorts.
That means the country is not trying to abandon its premium positioning, but rather offer different price points within the broader destination.
“Maldives is an aspirational destination,” Yasir said, adding that it remains something many travellers aspire to experience at least once.
Average stays currently stand at around six nights, although officials stressed that this varies significantly by source market. Asian travellers can favour shorter stays, while European visitors tend to stay longer.
For the Maldives and its Indian Ocean neighbours, however, the immediate challenge is less about convincing travellers that they want an island holiday and more about ensuring they can get there with confidence.
The recovery of Gulf aviation connectivity — and the willingness of travellers and insurers to use those routes — will therefore remain an important part of the tourism recovery story for the region’s island destinations.
