Malé vs Medina
Malé and Medina are level on the TRAIL Index at 57. Malé grades better on 6 measures, Medina on 6; the same 37 measures from public sources for both.
Scores by each organisation's criteria
- TRAIL Index: Malé 57, Medina 57
- OECD: Malé 57, Medina 57
- UN Tourism: Malé 48, Medina 53
- UNDRR: Malé 52, Medina 41
Theme by theme
- Demand and seasonality: Malé 85, Medina 92
- Economy and jobs: Malé 63, Medina 67
- Climate and hazards: Malé 69, Medina 40
- Water and environment: Malé 8, Medina 31
- Community and housing: Malé 67, Medina 63
- Access and continuity: Malé 50, Medina 46
Where Malé is stronger
- Unemployment rate: 2.3 % of the labour force (Maldives Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Survey, Male' 2024-2025, 2024–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
- Extreme heat days: 0 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
- Rent growth: 0 % change in rents over the last 12 months (Maldives Monetary Authority & Maldives Bureau of Statistics, CPI Statistics Database, 2024 to 2025). At or below 3: grade 4/4.
- Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A written destination crisis plan (Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Maldives, 2023–2025). Grade 2/4.
- Travel advisory: 2 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). Between 1 and 2: grade 3/4.
- Dedicated tourism funding: A dedicated source partly ring-fenced for residents, infrastructure or sustainability (Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy / Ministry of Finance, Maldives, 2025). Grade 3/4.
Where Medina is stronger
- Hotel bed or room occupancy: 75 % average annual occupancy (Almqr Development Company / Saudi Press Agency (SPA), 2025). At or above 75: grade 4/4.
- Income per head: 73,784 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). At or above 60,000: grade 4/4.
- Wastewater safely treated: 85 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (WHO / UN-Habitat / UN-Water SDG 6 Data Portal & World Health Organization Data, 2024). Between 85 and 95: grade 3/4.
- Tourism intensity: 14.4 visitor nights per resident per year (region figure) (Madinah Chamber / Saudi Press Agency (SPA) & GASTAT, H1 2025). Between 10 and 20: grade 2/4.
- Access redundancy: 3 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Saudi Arabia Railways & General Authority of Civil Aviation, 2026). Between 3 and 4: grade 3/4.
- Government effectiveness: 71.7 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). Between 60 and 80: grade 3/4.
Country context (World Economic Forum)
- Saudi Arabia: #29 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
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