More than 74,000 tourists have been welcomed during the first two weeks of November.
This was revealed by the Ministry of Tourism through its latest weekly tourist arrival statistics publicized on November 14.
The ministry’s statistics reveal that between November 1 and 13, a total of 74,496 visitors touched down at Velana International Airport (VIA).
The arrival figure for November is an 8.1 percent increase compared to the 68,887 arrivals recorded in the same period last year and a lot more than the 63,437 arrivals recorded in the same period of 2022.
About 5,730 tourists are arriving on average every day during November, and tourists are staying for eight days.
Looking at the daily arrivals for November:
- 5,215 tourists were welcomed on November 1
- 6,461 tourists were welcomed on November 2
- 6,828 tourists were welcomed on November 3
- 5,076 tourists were welcomed on November 4
- 5,724 tourists were welcomed on November 5
- 5,272 tourists were welcomed on November 6
- 5,126 tourists were welcomed on November 7
- 5,341 tourists were welcomed on November 8
- 6,449 tourists were welcomed on November 9
- 6,666 tourists were welcomed on November 10
- 5,239 tourists were welcomed on November 11
- 5,635 tourists were welcomed on November 12
- 5,464 tourists were welcomed on November 13
Statistics go on to show that between January 1 and November 13, the Maldives welcomed 1,739,144 tourists.
Arrivals so far this year are a 9.4 percent increase from the 1,589,076 arrivals recorded in the same period last year, and a significant growth from the 1,407,803 arrivals recorded in 2022.
The daily average for 2024 so far is 5,469, and tourists are staying for an average of eight days. The highest number of tourist arrivals recorded on a daily basis so far this year was on February 10, when more than 10,000 tourist arrivals were recorded.
The Maldives welcomed 1.8 million tourists in 2023 and aspires to welcome two million tourists this year.
Tourist arrivals for this year include:
- 192,385 visitors welcomed during January
- 217,392 visitors welcomed during February
- 194,227 visitors welcomed during March
- 168,366 visitors welcomed during April
- 119,875 visitors welcomed during May
- 123,284 visitors welcomed during June
- 167,528 visitors welcomed during July
- 176,175 visitors welcomed during August
- 132,795 visitors welcomed during September
- 172,621 visitors welcomed during October
Further, the ministry revealed that China remains the top source for tourist arrivals, proving a growing demand for travel to the island nation in the eastern Asian region.
China sits at the top of the list of tourist source markets, contributing 14.1 percent of the market share with 244,358 arrivals by November 13.
The year began with Italy topping the tourist arrival markets of the island nation; however, it was replaced by Russia for a few weeks.
Although the United Kingdom ranked in second place for a while, it was replaced by Russia once more.
Russia now contributes 11.2 percent of the market share with 194,418 arrivals recorded so far.
Russia dominated the tourist arrival markets of the Maldives by the end of 2023.
The UK currently ranks in third place in the top 10 markets, contributing 8.7 percent of the market share with 150,723 arrivals.
Although India was among the top three source markets at the beginning of the year, it was replaced by China.
Other top tourist markets so far in 2024 are:
- Germany contributing 7.7 percent with 134,077 arrivals
- Italy contributing 6.8 percent with 118,599 arrivals
- India contributing 6.1 percent with 106,075 arrivals
- United States contributing 3.3 percent with 58,106 arrivals
- France contributing 2.7 percent with 46,187 arrivals
- Spain contributing 2.4 percent with 41,037 arrivals
- Switzerland contributing two percent with 34,529 arrivals
Welcoming the first tourist of 2024 to the Maldives back in January, Minister of Tourism Ibrahim Faisal noted that it was a fantastic start to what promises to be another successful year for the Maldives’ tourism industry. He expressed keen interest in diversifying and exploring additional markets to reach this year’s arrival target. The Maldives welcomed the one millionth tourist of the year, six months in, on June 27.
Tourism was introduced in the Maldives in 1972. It has been 52 years since zealous travelers have visited the Maldives, which has been drawing in visitors with its picturesque beauty for years.
