Maldives welcomes over 1.6 million tourists

The Ministry of Tourism has revealed that the Maldives has welcomed over 1.6 million tourists so far this year. The latest tourism update report released by the tourism ministry indicated that a total of 1,603,287 tourists visited the Maldives, as of October 21. This is a significant increase of 9.5% compared to the tourist arrival within the same period last year. The statistics further show that a total of 111,260 visited the Maldives till so far this month, a notable 7.7% compared to the number of tourists who arrived during the same period last year. The statistics indicate that China continues to be the top market source of tourism, with 235,765. Following China, the leading source markets include Russia with 176,185 visitors, 136,081 arrivals from the United Kingdom, 120,380 from Germany and 111,478 from Italy. Additionally, the data shows that the tourist arrival from India has been increasing, with a total of 96,763 tourists arriving up to this date. On average, 5,435 tourists arrive to the Maldives daily. This steady influx has encouraged the government to set an ambitious target of attracting two million tourists by the end of the year. To achieve this goal, the Maldives now has to welcome 396,713 tourists. The government has been exerting several efforts to increase the tourist arrivals. As such, it has been actively collaborating with parties involved in the tourism industry, to showcase the Maldives in international platforms.