The Maldives government will ban Israelis from the Indian Ocean archipelago, known for luxury resorts, as public anger in the predominantly Muslim nation rises over the war in Gaza.
So, admittedly, $3.3 Million is low-balling it, and that the real figure is probably something like $20 Million, assuming that each tourist stays ~1 week and spends $299/day as you have quoted.
But these numbers don’t mean anything in a vacuum. More context is needed to understand the actual impact of this decision.
The Maldives have a GDP of $6.55 Billion. Assuming that this costs them $20 Million in tourism revenue, that’s only a 0.3% drop in GDP. The annual fluctuation in GDP is ±9%. The impact of banning Israeli tourists is less than a rounding error on the Economy of the Maldives.
So, admittedly, $3.3 Million is low-balling it, and that the real figure is probably something like $20 Million, assuming that each tourist stays ~1 week and spends $299/day as you have quoted.
But these numbers don’t mean anything in a vacuum. More context is needed to understand the actual impact of this decision.
The Maldives have a GDP of $6.55 Billion. Assuming that this costs them $20 Million in tourism revenue, that’s only a 0.3% drop in GDP. The annual fluctuation in GDP is ±9%. The impact of banning Israeli tourists is less than a rounding error on the Economy of the Maldives.
An entire economy is made up of many parts. 0.3% doesn’t sound like much but with big numbers it adds up.
A sacrifice of 20 million dollars is more than just symbolism.
The problem here is that $20 million isn’t a “big number” compared to $6.55 Billion.
Believe whatever you want, I can’t stop you, but you are objectively wrong.
Let’s pretend the Maldives is America. Would you say that America losing 0.3% of its entire GDP over a boycott is "symbolic?