Top 5 Most Beautiful Island Countries in the World

1. Maldives

Insider Monkey Score: 16

No. of Tourists in 2022: 1.68 million

No. of Tourists in 2019: 2 million 

Percentage Change in the No. of Tourists Post-Covid: -16%

Maldives once again secured the title of the World’s Leading Destination (among several other accolades) at the 2022 World Travel Awards, globally recognised as the hallmark of industry excellence.

The Covid-19 pandemic pushed the Maldivian economy into the abyss and real GDP contracted by 33.4% in 2020 as tourism was frozen for the rest of that year. Under normal circumstances, tourism usually accounts for more than 80% of the country’s current account revenues and this explains why the Maldives were among the countries most affected by the pandemic fallout in Asia. The two following years, GDP growth sharply rebounded – +41.7% and +12.3% respectively – as tourism gradually recovered thanks to the lifted mobility and border restrictions. As the figures of the first quarter of 2023 show, tourism arrivals have now returned to pre-Covid levels and are expected to keep GDP growth at high levels this year – +7.2%.

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