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Maldives

Enclave resort tourism where much of the revenue never reaches the local economy.

How this page works

Six sections are filled in: the parts that are stable and factual. Four are yours — evidence, perspectives, evaluation and the current connection. Those four are where the marks are, and they are deliberately empty. A case study only counts once you have completed them.

↧ Download the Maldives template Word · ready to fill in · the six given sections already completed
Before you write about this one

This case pairs well with Costa Rica: two tourism models, two very different distributions of benefit.

§ 01

The ten-part record

01 · Location Filled in for you

Republic of Maldives
3.2°N 73.2°E · scale: National

See this case in context on the case study map.

02 · Geographic context Filled in for you

A low-lying atoll nation where the dominant tourism model places resorts on islands separate from inhabited ones. Much of the supply chain, ownership and booking sits outside the country.

03 · Processes Filled in for you

What is changing here, and the mechanisms driving it.

  • One-island-one-resort spatial separation
  • Foreign ownership and international booking platforms
  • Import dependence for resort supplies
  • Revenue leakage from the national economy
04 · Evidence You build this

Find these, and write the year beside every figure. A statistic without a date is not evidence.

  • Tourism as a share of GDP
  • Estimated leakage rate
  • Share of resort staff who are Maldivian
  • Growth of guesthouse tourism as an alternative
Your figures go here
05 · Stakeholders Filled in for you

Who is affected, and separately, who holds the decision-making power.

  • Maldivian workers in the resort sector
  • Inhabited island communities outside the resort economy
  • Foreign resort owners and operators
  • The government, dependent on tourism revenue

Named above as a starting list. For each one, add what they actually want, and note where two of them want incompatible things.

06 · Perspectives You build this

Find two sources that disagree about this case — not two summaries of the same view. Record who each is, what they claim, and what interest they have. A perspective without a holder is not a perspective.

Your notes go here
07 · Concepts Filled in for you

Which of the six apply here, and what each one reveals.

  • Power. Who owns the resort determines where the profit lands.
  • Spatial interaction. Visitors arrive without meeting the resident population.
  • Possibility. Guesthouse tourism on inhabited islands changes the distribution.
08 · Evaluation You build this

How significant is this? How effective was any response? What are the limitations of your evidence? What else could explain the pattern? Reach a judgement and defend it.

Your notes go here
09 · Current connection You build this

One dated development from the last twelve months. Does it strengthen, weaken or complicate the case as recorded above? Update this every time you revisit the case.

Your notes go here
10 · Exam use Filled in for you

Leakage, the multiplier effect, and who actually benefits from tourism.

Now go and build the other four

Reading this page is not the same as having a case study. Take the template, find the evidence, and fill in sections 4, 6, 8 and 9 in your own words.

↧ Download the template Or take the blank version for a case of your own
§ 02

Where to look

Start here. Prefer the organisation that produced the data over anyone summarising it.

Links checked 27 August 2026 · external links open in a new tab

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