The Maldivian Government hinted (in 2004) that it is planning to legalize non-Muslim weddings latest by end of that year. This decision (if made) will have an enormous impact on the Maldives, making this a wedding destination. It is expected that this will allow the return on potential investment to increase, due to the high forecasted increase in demand.

The highest demand period for some 400 weddings that are currently performed in the Maldives, is between the months of June and November. Looking at the wedding on a global scale, when the Maldivian Government legalizes weddings, the Maldives will enter into competition with Tahiti, New Caledonia, Fiji, and Hawaii. The Maldives is expected to attract a large segment from all competitive markets, making it one of the market leaders.

Overseas Weddings have been conducted by the South Pacific region, Hawaii region as well as the Caribbean region for many decades aiming for 3 main markets; Japan, Europe and Australia. It has been identified that overseas weddings are turning from something rare into something more fashionable and common. This is perhaps one of the reasons why the tourism authority hinted about legalizing non-Muslim weddings as it is an area of great future tourism growth. Though the Government has hinted this some three years back, no official announcement has been made as yet. Wedding operators are unsure when exactly this will take place, yet they are optimistic it will happen. Sri Lanka will be the most adversely affected destination, followed by Mauritius and the Seychelles. Louise Dixon, Tradewinds Marketing Manager, then said, “Sri Lanka and Mauritius tend to be booked based on price. The Maldives’ current vow renewal packages are more expensive, but offer a different experience altogether”. The Maldives is regarded as providing the potential for a true ‘castaway’ wedding experience with wedding parties taking over a whole island.�

Former Kuoni Managing Director, Sue Biggs, also commented optimistically on possible legal weddings in the Maldives, “The Maldives could leap into Kuoni’s weddings league table if it starts to allow marriages”. Already being their number one honeymoon destination this shows that operators too forecast the great potential gains from this development.�

Six Senses, the operators of Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili has entered into a joint venture with South Pacific Bridal (SPB). This is a leading Japanese wedding management company, which will provide Six Senses the required expertise in the field of weddings.� The joint venture will place Six Senses on top of things, enabling them to gain a first mover advantage in relatively untapped market with high future projected gains.� �

Cox & Kings the largest Tour Operator to Maldives from Japan has also joined hands with Hana Weddings from the same country to cater for their many wedding couples in various resorts of the Maldives. � �