The Maldives was largely terra incognita for tourists until the early seventies. Strewn across the equator in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives archipelago possesses an exceptionally unique geography as a small island country. Nature has fragmented the archipelago into 1,190 tiny islands that occupy a mere one per cent of its 90,000 sq km territory. Only 185 islands are home to its 300,000 population, while the other islands are used entirely for economic purposes of which tourism and agriculture are the most dominant.Tourism accounts for 28% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives foreign exchange receipts. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes. The development of tourism has fostered the overall growth of the countrys economy. It has created direct and indirect employment and income generation opportunities in other related industries. The first tourist resorts were opened in 1972 with Bandos island resort and Kurumba Village. According to the Ministry of Tourism website,the emergence of tourism in 1972 transformed the economy of the Maldives, moving rapidly from the dependence on the fisheries sector to the tourism sector. Just in three and a half decades, the industry has become the main source of income and livelihood of the people of the Maldives. Tourism is also the countrys biggest foreign currency earner and the single largest contributor to the GDP. Today, there are 89 resorts in the Maldives with a bed capacity of over 17,000, providing world class facilities for tourists whose annual arrival figure exceeds 600,000. The report published in Dhivehi language, mentions that the number of resorts have increased from 2 resorts in 1972, to 92 by the end of 2007. Up to 2007, a total of 8,382,928 tourists have visited Maldives.