Arrival figure sees 23 percent increase from 2022, Russia tops source markets

The tourist arrivals figure has seen an increase of 23 percent in comparison to 2021, with Russia topping the source markets for the country’s tourism.

This was revealed by the Ministry of Tourism in its latest weekly statistics, publicized on Friday.

Since the new year began, Maldives has welcomed a total of 97,873 visitors, which according to the ministry is an increase of 22.8 percent from the 79,718 arrivals recorded in the same period last year, and a significant increase from the 52,943 arrivals recorded in 2021.

The statistics go on to reveal that Russia has topped the source market for the archipelago nation’s tourism, contributing 15.5 percent of the market share with 15,218 arrivals recorded from the country so far.

Second comes Italy, contributing 10.9 percent with 10,660 arrivals.

Coming in third is neighboring India contributing 9.4 percent with 9,242 arrivals.

2022 ended with the neighboring country as the top source market for Maldives tourism.

The highest daily arrivals so far this month was recorded on January 2, when more than 6,400 visitors were welcomed at Velana International Airport (VIA).

The daily average for the newly commenced year is at 5,437 and tourists are staying in the Maldives for an average of eight days.

The archipelago nation welcomed its first tourist visitor of the new year with a special ceremony held at Velana International Airport (VIA) for Nikolai Stratichuk from Russia, who arrived with his family on his first-ever visit to Maldives.

Due to the numerous safety precautions implemented in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, alongside border closure, 2020 was a sluggish year for Maldives tourism. Tourist arrivals began to bounce back with the easing of travel restrictions as well as safety measures against Covid-19 in 2021.

During 2020, Maldives recorded 555,494 tourist arrivals, which was a drastic plunge from the previous year’s 1,702,887 arrivals. Maldives met its tourist arrival target for 2021 in late December and welcomed a total of 1,321,932 tourists by the end of the year.

In 2022, Maldives welcomed 1,675,285 tourists. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in his presidential address on 3 February 2022, revealed that Maldives aimed to welcome 1.6 million tourists in 2022.  The island nation reached its target with the combined efforts of relevant government agencies, the private sector, and industry stakeholders.

The golden jubilee year of tourism holds a record of milestones related to the tourism sector. As such, Maldives has been crowned the World’s Leading Destination three times in a row.

Minister of Tourism, Dr. Abdulla Mausoom notes that this quick rebound of Maldives tourism to pre-pandemic level is a clear indication of the visionary leadership of President Solih, sound tourism policies and the strong partnership between the government and the private sector.

It has been 50 years since zealous travelers have been visiting the Maldives which has been drawing in visitors with its picturesque beauty for years.

Tourism was introduced in the Maldives in 1972.