The Maldives has been ranked 3rd among the best countries in the world per The Telegraph Travel Awards 2023.
The Telegraph Travel Awards stretch to 20 categories, covering everything from airlines and cruise operators to hotel groups and ski companies. But the category that acts as the most revealing litmus test on the world around it is the battle to be named the favourite country. Every year, Telegraph readers vote in significant numbers for their chosen corner of the planet – providing a clear picture of where people travel as a nation, and what they like. That picture is often remarkably stable.
If Japan’s ranking in this poll is a model of consistency then the Maldives are all but an art installation carved in stone. Third place in 2023 is both an exact repeat of the result in 2019 and the joint lowest ranking in the last decade. In the last seven editions of the Telegraph Travel Awards, the voters have declared the Maldives to be either a second or third favourite destination – a high opinion of astonishing durability. But then – and this is not a criticism – little changes in this sandbar archipelago, strewn across the gentle waters of the Indian Ocean.
Featured Cover Image: Le Meridien Maldives Resort & Spa