The tourist arrival figure for November has surged. The ministry’s statistics reveal that between November 1 and 24, a total of 139,175 visitors touched down at Velana International Airport (VIA). The arrival figure for November is a 5.8 percent increase compared to the 131,517 arrivals recorded in the same period last year and a lot more than the 116,786 arrivals recorded in the same period of 2022. About 5,799 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
- 5,474 tourists were welcomed on November 14
- 5,631 tourists were welcomed on November 15
- 6,565 tourists were welcomed on November 16
- 7,001 tourists were welcomed on November 17
- 4,899 tourists were welcomed on November 18
- 5,684 tourists were welcomed on November 19
- 5,303 tourists were welcomed on November 20
- 5,243 tourists were welcomed on November 21
- 5,324 tourists were welcomed on November 22
- 6,760 tourists were welcomed on November 23
- 6,795 tourists were welcomed on November 24
Statistics go on to show that between January 1 and November 24, the Maldives welcomed 1,803,823 tourists. Arrivals so far this year are a 9.2 percent increase from the 1,651,706 arrivals recorded in the same period last year, and a significant growth from the 1,461,152 arrivals recorded in 2022. The daily average for 2024 so far is 5,483, 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 of 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 13.8 percent of the market share with 248,564 arrivals by November 24.
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 202,136 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 156,944 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 7.8 percent with 139,804 arrivals
- Italy contributing 6.8 percent with 122,527 arrivals
- India contributing 6.1 percent with 110,001 arrivals
- United States contributing 3.4 percent with 60,578 arrivals
- France contributing 2.6 percent with 47,365 arrivals
- Spain contributing 2.4 percent with 42,439 arrivals
- Switzerland contributing two percent with 36,100 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 visited the Maldives, which has been drawing in visitors with its picturesque beauty for years.
