1 out of 5,030 or is that 1 out of 484,680? (Bangkok, Thailand)

In just a few days I'm headed to the coral atolls and islands of the Maldives. A diver's paradise.

“The Mal-what?!!“

I wouldn't be surprised if that was the answer given by more than a few people – even more worldwise travelers. It barely registered on my radar when I traveled to nearby Sri Lanka last year, and only then because it was also covered in my Sri Lanka guidebook. Maybe you heard about the Maldives for the first time recently because of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. If I was a betting man though, I would say you heard a lot more about Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and India.

This isn't my first time to a relatively obscure group of islands. I visited Palau last year. Palau-what!!? Palau is even more obscure than the Maldives. (Although that is sure to change as I saw it as the setting on a recent Survivor TV episode). But, there is a very interesting thing I've learned about the Maldives recently. It isn't so obscure. It just depends on who you talk to.

The Maldives receives nearly the same amount of visitors per year as more “well known” Sri Lanka. The Maldives is famous as an upscale paradise – in some circles. It is frequently marketed as a honeymoon destination. It is just not famous in the circles I was living in. I soon realized, I could replace the circle with my entire home country.

In 2002, the Maldives received nearly 484k tourists. For comparison - Thailand is expecting 13 million visitors in 2005. Palau The interesting thing about those 484k tourists is that only 1% of them are Americans. 1.03% to be exact. Or exactly 5,030 people. In contrast 372k (West mostly) Europeans visited (77%) and 44k Japanese (9%) made it to the Maldives. Of the Europeans, 320k came from just 5 countries – Italy, UK, Germany, France, and Switzerland.

In other words, if I mention the Maldives to a West European they might mention how lucky I am. If I mention it to a fellow American I would probably get a blank stare. 5,030 people. Not a heck of a lot. Let's put this in perspective.

In 2002 – 1 out of every X people from the following countries traveled to the Maldives.

USA – 1 out of 58,600 people (293mln / 5k)

Italy – 1 out of 504 people (58mln / 115k)
UK – 1 out of 750 people (60mln / 80k)
Germany – 1 out of 1,301 people (82mln / 63k) - skewed by East Germany population. Maldives more known among West German population.
France – 1 out of 1,935 people (60 mln / 31k)
Switzerland - 1 out of 218 (7 mln / 32k)

While there are few places that can compare to the Maldives due to its unique geography, the closest comparison from a vacation marketing standpoint might be Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, and the Caribbean. I've only calculated Hawaii.

Hawaii – 4.5 mln domestic visitors (out of 6 million+) – 1 out of 67

Tourism figures – 2002 / Population – 2004 rounded down to nearest million.

So what does this all mean and why is this so? Well, that is going to require more analysis and writing which I will post later as I'm too busy and excited getting ready to go!!

It will be interesting to see the statistics on European visitors to Hawaii and other destinations closer to the US mainland.

PS: While I did say the Maldives are known as an upscale destination, it doesn't have to be. Especially if you plan it properly - like I have. :)