Maldives Luxury: What’s Next for Middle East Travellers?

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

It's the Morning Drive for many. The Maldives remains the undisputed crown jewel of global luxury travel. But the expectations of the modern traveler are shifting at breakneck speed. And as the industry looks towards travel 2040, Maldivian resorts are having to fundamentally rethink what luxury, what sustainability and what guest experience really means. So what does the next era of island hospitality look like? Joining us is Frederic Bohez, who is the COO, Chief Operating Officer of Pulse Hotels & Resorts, here to discuss the Maldives at ATM, which is on this week in Dubai. And probably a lot more. Frederic, welcome back.

Frederic Bohez (0:45)

Morning. Thank you very much. Nice to be back. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_1 (0:47)

It's nice to see you.

We're live during a pretty bustling ATM 2026 So from the perspective of Pulse Hotels & Resorts, let's start with this. How is the GCC Traveler's appetite for the luxury that the Maldives offers? How is that evolving this year? How's that tracking?

Frederic Bohez (1:10)

Very well, actually.

I suppose the GCC provides two things to the Maldives as a destination. It provides obviously a source market, an important one, whether it is expats or it is Emiratis or KSA Nationals coming into the Maldives. But there's also the hub role that the GCC plays, which is crucial also for an island nation such as the Maldives to make sure that connectivity is there and remains. So I think when it comes to the GCC and KSA Traveler, we can really see that there's been an evolution, I would say, in the traditional role that the Maldives would play with a sort of a honeymoon bucket list one time sort of destination, into much more of an experiential led destination, where we see that guests from the GCC and GCC Nationals themselves are now traveling more looking forward to those experiences above the water, underwater. We're also seeing a lot of solo travelers, girlfriends traveling together, and not only in ultra luxury anymore, not in luxury. There's also an interest for more accessible and more grounded experiences, which is a big shift. And with Pulse Hotels & Resorts having a full bandwidth of resorts and continuing the development of the properties, we really see the success of those properties and of that bandwidth that we have in our portfolio by being able to cater to GCC travelers at every different level of that, whether it's ultra luxury with unobtrusive Maldives or a more accessible level of luxury with our Airy Maldives Resort.

SPEAKER_1 (3:03)

Okay, so ATM is this year is kind of putting the spotlight on the future of tourism. What are you seeing right now in terms of demand for the Maldives and luxury travel? How would you quantify that?

Frederic Bohez (3:17)

Well, listen, I think the GCC continues to be a corridor, Asia to the GCC, Europe into the GCC, and then obviously for us, it's also important to continue the relationship that we have with the GCC in terms of having that as a hub, but also developing direct connectivity with Europe, with Asia. I think it's important to diversify, making sure that we've got easy access into the country with visa facilities to make sure that it's as frictionless as possible when people arrive to the destination.

SPEAKER_1 (3:55)

You run everything, and you mentioned this just now, from 26-filler ultra-luxury resorts to more relaxed, more accessible stays on the islands. How do you keep those different experiences under one brand without your portfolio seeming a little... I don't want to use the word scattered because I know, but do you know what I mean?

Frederic Bohez (4:17)

Yeah, I think it's a great question. I think when Pulse is going to be 10 years old actually next year, and our journey so far has really been focused on building our brands, building our resorts, building our brand portfolio, and with every property that we have opened over the last 10 years, and we're now up to four and we've got another two coming into 2027, each of those brands has addressed a demand need. The reason that we have continued to create those brands is because we saw an opportunity in the market. We opened Candima Maldives in 2017, and it's probably one of the largest resorts in the Maldives with over 270 keys. And we have continued to develop the experiences on that particular property, opening in the last 12 to 18 months, an ego carting course, 500 meter ego carting course, where we invite regularly the Formula One personalities, go carting champions to come and be able to share their experience with the guest. We have also on the same resort opened the last couple of years, escape rooms. We have two bowling alleys on there as well. So I think, and then in 2019, just before COVID, we opened our Nautilus Maldives, which is our ultra luxury product, obviously catering for that guest. And that's on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of keys, where it's got only 26 keys, right? So I think, and then, you know, since then, we've opened Nova, which is more focused on the solo traveler, which is more focused under overwater and underwater experiences. And back in December last year, Eddie Maldives, which is sort of our most accessible property, reachable in 45 minutes by a speedboat from Mali. And I think it is a portfolio that has been developed with intent, because those properties, when they have opened and started operating, have been very, very successful. And we've seen huge growth. And we continue to see those opportunities with the brands and the products that will launch next year.