Tourism opinion survey report 2004

Abstract

The Ministry of Tourism had conducted periodic surveys to determine the opinions and expectation of tourists visiting the Maldives. Based on the results of the previous such survey, Tourist Opinion Survey 1999, this survey of 2004 is carried out to determine key variables as they relate to tourist opinion with regard to the Maldives as a destination, and services and facilities available in the Maldives in relation to expectations. In this regard 3241 returned questionnaires from a target group of mainly Italian, British and German departing tourists is analyzed in this report and studied separately in a comparative analysis. The majority of respondents belong to age groups between 26-35 years with 7% more

male respondents than females. They were mainly employed in the private sector or self- employed. Majority of the respondents stated lower range incomes while less people

stated their income in the mid-range. Higher range of income occurred more than mid- range incomes. About 30% stated that they spent over US$5000 for an average duration

of stay of 8 days holiday in the Maldives. The main source of information about the Maldives was from friends and relatives followed by Travel Agents and multi-media promotions. Around 10% said that they had difficulty in organizing their holiday to the Maldives due to constraints in room availability, airline seats and lack of information. The majority booked their holiday through established as well as new tour operators or travel agents. Internet bookings at 7% are greater than the 4% FIT bookings on arrival. About 18% are repeaters, some repeating more than 4-5 times. They come generally, keen to enjoy the natural environment, on full-board or all-inclusive accommodation, with about 30% combining their holiday with another country. While most respondents stated leisure and marine related activities as the purpose of visit, significantly 30% stated honeymoon as specific purpose of visit. Spa and Health activities in the Maldives are a new trend that is also on the increase.The majority of respondents rated their place of stay in the Maldives as excellent and also said that the services in the Airport were good. Services and facilities in Malé, the commercial and cultural Capital were also rated high. However, less than 30% of the tourist surveyed, mainly younger people, had visited the capital, Malé, out of who about a third or about 6% of total respondents said that they were not satisfied due to harassment by hawkers, lack of time and congestion in the city. Most of the respondents were very satisfied with their visit to the Maldives, felt it was good Value for Money and said they would come back. Over 95% of the respondents said that they would recommend the Maldives to others. Comparative analysis of the 2004 and 1999 survey data show that most demographic and product related variables are parallel to and confirmed by other national and international statistics and research. Nevertheless, based on the expressed opinions of the tourists surveyed, even if such criticisms were far and few, key areas are identified and in conclusion specific recommendations are made at the end of the comparative analysis. The general conclusion is that in the opinion of tourists, the Maldives remains a very desirable place that meets or exceeds expectations of the overwhelming majority.