Maldives tourist arrivals so far in 2021 top 600,000

Maldives tourist arrivals for 2021 had crossed the 600,000-mark by Wednesday.

According to the latest weekly statistics by the Ministry of Tourism, a total of 600,252 tourists were welcomed in the Maldives between January 1 – July 28.

Of the over 600,000 arrivals recorded so far this year, 92,103 tourist arrivals were recorded during 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 arrivals, followed by 64,613 visitors in May. The number dropped to 56,166 during the month that followed, which the ministry believed to be linked to the restrictions and precautionary measures implemented in the face of a worsening Covid-19 situation as a fourth and more infectious wave was confirmed in early May.

June’s arrivals are 8,447 less than the arrivals recorded in the previous month.

The ministry’s statistics indicate that visitors are staying for an average of nine days and an average of 2,851 tourists were visiting the Maldives every day.

Tourist arrivals recorded so far this year are an increase of 56.2 percent in comparison to the same period last year.

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 23.5 percent with 140,824 arrivals recorded by Wednesday.

Russia is followed closely by India making up 16.6 percent with 99,643 arrivals so far this year. Third comes Germany contributing 5.6 percent with 33,361 tourist arrivals so far this year.

Ukraine, United States, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, United Kingdom, Spain and Romania are also considered some of the biggest tourist markets for the Maldives.

Authorities halted issuing on arrival visas to travelers from South Asia in May. This has since been resumed on July 15 as announced by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Maldives aims to welcome 1.5 million tourist arrivals this ongoing year and is gearing up to mark 50 years since the tourism industry’s inception, in 2022, which is to be celebrated as the golden year of tourism in Maldives.

Tourist arrivals have begun to bounce back with the easing of travel restrictions as well as safety measures against Covid-19, with Minister of Tourism Dr. Abdulla Mausoom even revealing that India is expected to be the country’s top source market by the end of the year, despite a drastic drop in arrivals from the neighboring country.

During 2020, Maldives recorded 555,494 tourist arrivals, which was a drastic plunge from the previous year’s groundbreaking 1.7 million.