Sustainable tourism and climate resilience in the Maldives

This study examines the sustainability and climate resilience of tourism in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), with a primary focus on the Maldives. While tourism has played a crucial role in the economic development of many SIDS, it has also contributed to environmental degradation, social inequality, and institutional fragmentation. Employing a narrative literature review approach, this paper explores how tourism in the Maldives interacts with three key domains essential to sustainability in SIDS: environmental vulnerability, social inclusion and climate resilience, and governance and policy coherence. The analysis reveals that tourism development has placed significant pressure on environmental ecosystems through reef damage, inadequate waste management, and excessive freshwater consumption. Although community-based tourism initiatives show potential, they are still constrained by unequal power relations and insufficient institutional support. Furthermore, governance challenges—such as fragmented inter-agency coordination and regulatory capture—continue to hinder long-term sustainability efforts. The findings highlight that building a climate-resilient tourism sector requires the integration of community participation in environmental governance, the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems, and enhanced policy coherence between tourism and environmental objectives. These insights underscore the need for future research aimed at expanding empirical understanding of localized adaptation strategies and evaluating the long-term impacts of governance reforms intended to strengthen resilience in tourism-dependent SIDS.