As the end of the sixth month of the year draws closer, over 500,000 tourists have been welcomed in the Maldives so far.

The Ministry of Tourism publicized its latest statistics on Saturday, highlighting that a total of 500,406 tourists were welcomed between January 1 – June 25.

Of the arrivals recorded so far in 2021, 92,103 tourists visited in January and 96,882 visitors were welcomed during February. Tourist arrivals escalated to 109,585 in the month that followed, making it the highest number of tourist arrivals recorded on a monthly basis since borders were reopened for international travel on 15 July 2020. In April Maldives welcomed 91,200 tourists, followed by 64,613 in May.

From June 1 to June 25, Maldives has welcomed 46,023 tourists through Velana International Airport. This, the ministry said is a 51 percent drop in comparison to the 93,948 arrivals recorded during the same period in 2019.

The over 500,000 arrivals recorded during the review period is 40.6 percent less in comparison to the 843,062 arrivals recorded in 2019, however, it is an increase of 30.7 percent from the 382,816 arrivals recorded last year due to the closure of borders.

The highest number of arrivals thus far this ongoing month was recorded on June 20 at 2,519. The lowest arrivals were recorded June 7, with 1,416.

According to statistics, visitors are staying for an average of nine days and an average of 2,843 tourists were visiting the Maldives every day.

With arrivals from India, the top source market recorded by the Maldives since border reopening, declining due to the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country, Russia currently dominates the arrival market contributing 24.3 percent with 120,514 arrivals recorded by June 23. Russia is followed closely by India making up 18 percent with 89,599 arrivals by June 23. Third comes Germany contributing 5.5 percent of tourist arrivals. A total of 27,151 tourist arrivals were recorded between January 1 – June 23.

Ukraine, United States, Kazakhstan, United Kingdom, Romania, France and Czech Republic are also considered some of the biggest tourist markets for the Maldives.

There are currently 734 tourist facilities in operation spanning the Maldives, with 47,526 beds. As such, 154 resorts, 430 guesthouses, 10 hotels and 140 liveaboard vessels have resumed services thus far. Guesthouses are currently operational across 58 islands spanning 18 atolls.

Emirates currently remains the top airline flying tourists into the Maldives. Other top airlines operating flights to the island nation, a popular destination among zealous travelers, include Qatar Airways, Aeroflot, IndiGo, Go Air, Turkish Airlines, Flydubai, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa and Azur Air Russia. Some f the international airlines operating chartered flights into Maldives include Air Astana, Azur Air Ukraine, Gullivair, Scat Airlines, Ukraine International, Uzbekistan Airways, Air Vistara, Lot Polish Airlines and Blue Air.

The ministry revealed that tourist arrivals into the country slowed due to the restrictive measures placed during May against Covid-19. However, market rebounding progresses with growth rate stronger in comparison to the same period of 2019 and 2020. Further, the ministry added that arrivals from the East Mediterranean Europe, Middle East, Americas, and European regions are showing signs of recovery.