Travel Advisories

24 MARCH 2026

It is now very apparent that the ill-conceived war in the Middle East has had significant consequences for global economies with most industries and individuals feeling some effects.

The disruption to air traffic to the Maldives via the Middle East has resulted in tourist numbers decreasing by about 50% since the start of March; about 25% down on same period in 2025. Europe is the largest market for the Maldives and more than 55% of European tourists transit through Middle Eastern hubs as do many travellers from Southern Africa, South America and the east coast of USA.

This downturn includes for the surf tourism sector with many Brazilian, East Coast USA and European surfers intending to travel in the next couple months having to reroute, postpone or cancel their trips at late notice from the airlines. This is affecting bookings for resort-based surf tours such as Cinnamon Dhonveli (Pasta Point); charter boats and particularly guesthouses on village islands near the surfing zones which generally have a higher proportion of European surfers.

Travel from Australia, New Zealand, West Coast USA and UK to the Maldives has been unaffected with Singapore Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and Malaysian Airlines currently operating regular schedules for the Maldives. There have been some incremental increases in airfares and airline fuel surcharges due to the substantial spike in aviation fuel costs however with fuel being only one component of airline operating overheads these airlines are endeavouring to keep increases limited anticipating that this crisis will be resolved in the not-too-distant future.

While some charter boats in the Maldives have had to implement a fuel surcharge due to increases in diesel costs, resort islands such as Cinnamon Dhonveli have not at this stage despite the drop in occupancy which is also anticipated to be temporary.

The Maldives government is confident that sufficient fuel supplies will be maintained as sourced from the port of Oman (not via Hormuz), India, Sri Lanka and Singapore.

For any Australian, New Zealand and west coast USA surfers considering a surf destination the Maldives is a very safe option.

The Australian Government Smartraveller website maintains travel advice for over 175 destinations (including the Maldives), assigning an overall advice level to each. The advice levels reflect the risks for Australian travellers in each destination. We also provide general advice on a range of travel topics.

Smartraveller: www.dfat.gov.au/travel/.

For the Maldives click here