Tourism Seasonality
In most hotel management textbooks, seasonality is described as a gentle curve. Demand softens, pricing adjusts, occupancy dips, and hotels use slow periods for training and maintenance. A predictable, manageable cycle. But on small islands like Ukulhas, Mathiveri, Thoddoo, Feridhoo, or Rasdhoo, seasonality doesn’t behave like a curve. It
Island Tourism Economics
Most of the hospitality theory used in the Maldives today comes from Western hotel schools: revenue management, yield curves, segmentation, demand pacing, upselling strategy, occupancy thresholds, benchmarking, RevPAR, ADR, GOPPAR. These models work beautifully — in the environments they were designed for. But after 20 years working in Maldives tourism, both
Plastic Reduction
There’s a reason people call Ukulhas one of the cleanest islands in the Maldives. That reputation didn’t come from a single policy or a government directive. It came from something far simpler — a community deciding, together, what kind of island it wanted to be. This is the story
There’s a pattern I’ve seen across guesthouses, cafés, and small tourism businesses — not just in Ukulhas, and not just in the Maldives. It shows up in almost every small tourism economy I’ve worked in. It’s the gap between what’s urgent and what’s strategic. And
Tourism Education
There’s something I’ve noticed living and working on Ukulhas — something simple, but significant. Tourism is our main economy. Most families depend on it. Most businesses exist because of it. But the one place that doesn’t reflect this reality is the classroom. Students learn the same subjects children
Island Tourism Economics
There’s a pattern I’ve noticed on Ukulhas — and once you see it, you can’t unsee it. The environmental sector on this island was built through innovation. The tourism sector today is being built through replication. Same island. Same people. Two completely different approaches — two completely different outcomes.
Island Tourism Economics
And why it happens even when everyone is trying their best. There’s a question I’ve been carrying for years, long before I started writing Ukulhas Unfiltered: How do small islands with so much potential — good people, good service, beautiful reefs — still end up struggling in tourism? Not failing.
tourism growth
It's early December, and Ukulhas feels alive. Guests walk along the beachside road in the morning. Restaurants have tables full at dinner. Excursion boats head out to the reef multiple times a day. You can see tourism working — people moving, booking, spending. But six months ago, in June,
Ukulhas
There's a spot near the eastern beach where I used to sit as a kid, before tourism changed everything. Just sand, a few palm trees, and the kind of quiet you only get on small islands early in the morning. I'd watch the fishermen prepare their
Ukulhas
It was around four in the afternoon when I stopped at Céleste Restaurant for coffee and looked toward the harbor. The sea was calm, the kind of stillness we see often here — flat water reflecting the late sun, boats rocking gently against their moorings. A small boat moved slowly out