April's tourist arrival figure sees 55 percent increase from past year

Arrivals recorded so far in April 2022 see a 55 percent increase from the same period of 2021.

This was revealed by the Ministry of Tourism in the latest daily statistics, publicized on Tuesday.

Statistics revealed that so far in the Golden Jubilee Year of tourism, Maldives has welcomed a total of 553,878 tourists.

Between January 1 – April 25 this year, the arrival figures saw an increase of 46.7 percent compared to the same period of 2021. It is however, a decline of 10.6 percent compared to the figures recorded in 2019.

131,764 tourists were welcomed during January and 149,008 arrivals were recorded in February, followed by 150,739 arrivals in March.

April’s arrival figure; 122,367 is a 55 percent growth compared to the arrivals recorded in 2021. However, it is a 10.6 percent decrease from the figure recorded in 2019.

The statistics go on to indicate that tourists are staying in the Maldives for an average of eight days this promising year, with daily arrivals being maintained at an average of 4,816. The highest daily arrivals so far in April remain at 4,895.

Further, the ministry revealed that although Russia maintained its position as the top source market for Maldives tourism over the past few months, the country’s market has dropped and has been replaced by the United Kingdom.

As such, the figures revealed that as of April 25, UK contributes the greatest number of arrivals to the Maldives, contributing 13.1 percent of the total arrival count.

Second comes India, contributing 11.5 percent. Russia ranks third contributing 10 percent.

Other top tourism markets include Germany contributing 8.8 percent, Italy with 7.2 percent, the United States with 4.6 percent, France with 4.5 percent, Switzerland with 2.7 percent, Austria with 2.1 percent and Saudi Arabia at tenth position, contributing 1.9 percent.

As of April 25, 647 guesthouses are operational across Maldives with 11,272 beds, spanning across 95 islands in 20 atolls.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in his presidential address on February 3, revealed that Maldives aims to welcome 1.6 million tourists this year.