Abstract
Tourism in the Republic of Maldives (Central Indian Ocean) provided significant revenue to the country in 2019 with 1.7 million visitors, many of whom came to experience marine life through snorkeling or diving. Sea turtles (Chelonia mydas and Eretmochelys imbricata) are some of the megafauna attracting visitors, due to the high possibility and frequency of in-water encounters, as well as encounters on land during nesting or hatching events. The aims of this study were to assess the extent of the potential socioeconomic value of sea turtle tourism in the Maldives by interviewing and surveying dive and snorkel operators offering sea turtle trips, and the amount in US dollars spent directly on advertised sea turtle trips in 2019. Sea turtle tourism in 2019 was estimated to have generated a minimum of USD 1.08 million in direct revenue. Our results suggest that sea turtle tourism is not seasonal and occurs throughout the year, with some notable hotspots such as Lhaviyani and Laamu atoll. Sea turtles were perceived to be important to the operators’ business with the majority of operators advertising sea turtle viewing excursions to attract guests. According to operators, guests ranked sea turtles in their top 4 marine species to view, alongside manta rays, whale sharks, and sharks. These results suggest sea turtles have a high socioeconomic value for the country and highlight the potential to develop this industry and leverage its value to improve conservation for this species. Future surveys may also help to identify less well-known turtle aggregation sites and map tourism pressure on certain areas that may require stricter protection measures.
