Tourism arrivals for August has surpassed 100,000, making it the third month to surpass the figure this yea.

As per the tourism ministry's latest statistics, a total of 101,374 visitors were recorded from 1-21 August. While this is a 2.5 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2019, it is a 1,826.5 increase compared to last year when 5,262 arrivals were recorded; Maldives had reopened its borders after a nearly four-month closure due to Covid-19, on 15th July 2020.

As the number of tourist arrivals to the Maldives continue to increase after a temporary decline, an average of 4,827 have been arriving daily this month. Further, bed occupancy stands at 50,064.

This is the third month that tourist arrivals have surpassed 100,000 this year, with the other two being March and July. In March, 109,585 tourists arrived in the Maldives, while 101,818 arrived in July. As for the rest of the months, 92,103 tourist arrivals were recorded during January and 96,882 visitors were welcomed during February. 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 is believed to be linked the ban on travelers from South Asia in the face of a worsening Covid-19 situation in the region.

These ban was lifted in July.

In 2020, Maldives recorded 555,494 tourist arrivals, which was a drastic plunge from the previous year’s 1,702,887 arrivals.

Maldives aims to welcome 1.3 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.