On Monday, the Russian Union of Travel Industry (RST) asked Moscow to seek talks with Maldivian officials about payment problems affecting Russian tourists and travel companies.
The Moscow Times put the combined value of delayed or returned payments made by Russian tourists at an estimated $2 million. It reported that the Bank of Maldives began returning those payments on Oct. 18 and that some rejected transactions involved foreign intermediaries.
RST said it also appealed Friday, Nov. 6, to Russia’s ambassador in Sri Lanka and the Maldives and a senior Russian Economic Development Ministry official, asking them to seek consultations with Maldivian officials. RST board member Artur Muradyan said, “Industry players need to understand what drives this approach and how to ensure timely payment for hotel services.”
RST executive Dmitry Arutyunov said operators incurred repeated transaction fees while hotels were still awaiting payment. The Moscow Times reported cases in which Russian tourists had to cover their room charges a second time upon arrival or risk eviction.
The Moscow Times reported, citing Kommersant, that Russia ranked second among foreign visitor markets for the Maldives, after China. The outlet separately reported 258,100 Russian visitors from January through October 2026, representing 14.3% of arrivals. It put the average package booking price at about 585,600 rubles ($7,000).
Industry leaders warned that Russian tour operators would be forced to revisit investments and marketing in the Maldives if the banking problem remained unresolved.
