The Maldives Just Reached Into Your Online Booking

A Maldives tax change that took effect on October 1, 2026 reaches beyond island borders. Tourism GST, which stands at 17 percent after rising from 16 percent in July 2025, now also covers specified inbound tourism products and related booking services supplied by businesses that have no fixed place of business in the Maldives. Those overseas suppliers are required to register.

In practice, that targets foreign booking platforms and intermediaries that sell Maldivian stays and services from abroad. Reporting on the rule stresses that it does not simply add a flat 17 percent to every overseas booking, so the final effect on any single trip depends on what is being sold and by whom. The takeaway for travelers is that the price shown on a booking site may now include a tax it did not carry before.

The separate Green Tax is unchanged and has applied since January 1, 2025. It is US$12 per person per 24-hour period at resorts, larger establishments and tourist vessels, and US$6 at qualifying guesthouses and hotels with 50 or fewer rooms on inhabited islands. Children under two are exempt.

The numbers add up quickly. Two adults at a resort for seven nights pay US$168 in Green Tax, or US$84 at a qualifying smaller property, before GST, accommodation and transfers. Guesthouse stays on local islands remain the cheaper route under this structure, and comparing the all-in total across booking channels is now more important than comparing nightly rates alone.

Sources: Travel And Tour World