Over 62,000 tourists welcomed within first two weeks of May
Russia continues to top the source markets for the archipelago nation’s tourism
Tourists at Velana International Airport (VIA)
More than 62,000 tourists have been welcomed in the first two weeks of May.
This was revealed by the Ministry of Tourism in its latest daily statistics, publicized earlier this week.
Since the new year began, Maldives has welcomed a total of 751,101 visitors. This includes 172,499 tourists welcomed during January and 177,915 tourists welcomed in the following month. In March Maldives recorded 173,514 tourist arrivals followed by 164,356 in April.
A total of 62,816 visitors were welcomed at Velana International Airport (VIA) between May 1 – 15.
The arrival figure for the ongoing month is a 6.2 percent drop compared to the 66,938 arrivals recorded in the same period last year. However, it is much higher than the 38,630 arrivals recorded in the same period of 2021.
According to the ministry, this year’s arrival figure is an increase of 16.7 percent from the 643,742 arrivals recorded in the same period last year, and a significant growth from the 428,400 arrivals recorded in 2021.
The daily average for this year is at 5,564 and tourists are staying in the Maldives for an average of eight days.
The statistics go on to reveal that Russia continues to top the source markets for the archipelago nation’s tourism, contributing 11.8 percent of the market share with 88,841 arrivals recorded from the country by May 15.
Although the country ranked third since the beginning of the year, India has climbed up to the second position contributing 11.1 percent with 83,729 arrivals. 2022 ended with the neighboring country as the top source market for Maldives tourism.
Coming in third is the United Kingdom contributing 9.2 percent with 69,417 arrivals.
The Maldives is expected to record 1.9 million tourist arrivals by year-end. This was revealed by the Ministry of Finance.
In 2022, Maldives welcomed 1,675,285 tourists, including 12.3 bed nights. 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 held a record of milestones related to the tourism sector. As such, Maldives was crowned the World’s Leading Destination three times in a row last year.
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. However, 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.
In his presidential address this year, delivered at the People’s Majlis on 6 February 2023, President Solih stated that the Maldives will be welcoming 3.5 million tourists, annually, by 2028.
Tourism was introduced in the Maldives in 1972. 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.
