The Maldives (or Maldive Islands), officially the Republic of Maldives, is an
island nation consisting of a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean.
The Maldives is located south of India's Lakshadweep islands, and about seven hundred kilometers (435 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka.
The Maldives' twenty-six atolls encompass a territory featuring 1,192 islets, roughly two hundred of which are inhabited by local communities.
The development of tourism has fostered the overall growth of the country's economy.
It has created direct and indirect employment and income generation opportunities in other related industries.
Today, tourism is the country's biggest foreign exchange earner, contributing to twenty percent of the GDP.
With eighty-seven tourist resorts in operation.
The year 2006 recorded 467,154 tourist arrivals.
A week in a hotel in the Maldives islands
