Monday, September 9, 2024 The Maldives is witnessing remarkable growth in its tourism sector, with over 200,000 tourists from China so far this year, accounting for 15% of the total arrivals. This surge has been fueled by the reinstatement of direct flights from China, including those operated by Xiamen Airlines, Chongqing Airlines, and China Eastern, making the Maldives more accessible to Chinese travelers. With 1.
3 million visitors already this year, the Maldives is on track to achieve its ambitious goal of 2 million tourists by December 2024. To meet this target, an additional 700,000 visitors are anticipated over the coming months. According to the Ministry of Tourism’s latest data, Russia follows China with 149,920 visitors, while the UK and Italy have seen 119,189 and 102,412 tourists, respectively.
Germany completes the top five with 97,804 arrivals. Tourist arrivals in August grew by 14% compared to July, although the first week of September experienced a slight year-on-year decline of 3%. Currently, the Maldives is welcoming an average of 3,900 tourists per day.
In a strategic initiative to boost tourist numbers, the Maldivian government has focused on increasing visitors from India, which was the top source of tourists last year. India has already contributed 83,000 tourists this year, and the Ministry of Tourism is launching targeted campaigns to elevate India to the third spot by the end of the year. With these efforts and ongoing promotional activities, the Maldives is well-positioned to continue its trend of strong tourism growth and achieve its annual goals.
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