Centara Hotels & Resorts (CHR) has invested over $200 million in two new Maldives properties to cater to the rising demand for family-friendly travel. The Centara Mirage Lagoon Maldives, which opened in November 2023, is located on the North Malé Atoll, a 40-minute speedboat ride from Velana International Airport.
It features 145 rooms ranging from 45-196 square meters, priced between $400 and $1,000 per night. Over 70% of the rooms are designed for families, equipped with bunk beds and additional safety features for children. The resort also offers amenities like an outdoor water playground, a lazy river, swimming pools, a kid’s club, and spas.
The upcoming Centara Grand Lagoon Maldives, set to open in April 2024, is situated next to Centara Mirage Lagoon. It features 142 villas ranging from 78 to 290 square meters and is designed for families with older children. The resort will have an average daily room rate starting from $1,000.
The Maldives’ tourism sector has been growing, with 2 million visitors in 2024, surpassing the 1.7 million recorded in 2019. The target for 2025 is set at 2.2 million visitors, driven by an increase in affordable luxury accommodations. Currently, there are 178 resorts in the Maldives, with at least 30 more planned over the next three years.
To accommodate this growth, Velana International Airport’s new terminal is set to open mid-year, increasing capacity to 7 million passengers annually. With limited habitable islands, investors are now purchasing lagoons and reclaiming land for resort development, opting for 50-99-year lease contracts. Several projects are currently under development in lagoons near the airport, with a strong focus on family-friendly accommodations.
Since its opening, the Centara Mirage Lagoon Maldives has reported 77% of its guests as families, followed by 20% couples and a small percentage of solo travelers. The resort aims for an average occupancy rate of 45-50% in its first year. As the Maldives shifts toward a more family-inclusive tourism model, Centara’s new resorts are well-positioned to capitalize on this growing trend.
