The Maldives is reaffirming its status as a top-tier luxury travel destination, with recent figures showing tourist arrivals have exceeded 979,000 so far this year.

This was revealed by the Ministry of Tourism through its latest daily tourist arrival statistics published on Tuesday.

As such, the ministry’s statistics show that between January 1 and June 3, 979,958 tourists arrived in the Maldives. This is an 8.4 percent surge in comparison to the 903,773 arrivals recorded in 2024 and much higher than the 821,248 arrivals recorded in 2023.

The statistics go on to reveal that about 6,931 tourists arrived on average every day during January, 7,646 in February, 6,563 in March, 6,611 tourists arrived on average during April and 4,414 tourists arrived on average during May. About 4,533 tourists are arriving on average every day during June.

Further, between June 1 – 3, 13,600 tourists were welcomed at Velana International Airport (VIA). This is an 18 percent increase from the 11,530 arrivals recorded in the same period of 2024 and higher than the 12,004 arrivals recorded the previous year.

The Maldives continues to cement its reputation as a premier luxury travel destination, with statistics revealing that 71.6 percent of visitors opt for stays at the nation’s upscale resorts. This trend underscores the enduring appeal of the island nation’s exclusive accommodations and pristine surroundings among global travelers.

So far, 701,764 visitors have opted for the luxury of resorts. This makes up 71.6 percent of the total arrivals. 225,539 tourists make up 23 percent of the tourists who stayed at guesthouses, 28,298 tourists make up 2.9 percent of the tourists who stayed at hotels, 23,679 tourists make up 2.4 percent of the tourists who stayed at liveaboard vessels and 660 who stayed at other facilities during this period.

Statistics go on to reveal that China has remained the leader in tourist arrivals to the Maldives with no signs of slowing down, dominating the top source markets by the end of the fifth month of the year.

As such, the ministry’s statistics revealed that although Russia topped the tourist source markets into the third week of January, it was replaced by China into the last week of January.

China has topped the leading source of tourists since then. China contributes 12 percent of the market share with 117,874 arrivals.

China sat at the top of the list of tourist source markets by the end of 2024 as well.

Russia sits at second place on the list contributing 11 percent of the market share with 107,518 arrivals recorded by Tuesday.

The United Kingdom comes third contributing 10.2 percent of the market share with 99,671 arrivals.

Maldives welcomed 2,046,615 visitors in 2024. In 2023, 1,878,543 tourist arrivals were recorded.

A true jewel of the Indian Ocean, Maldives has been dazzling among passionate travelers since tourism was introduced in the island nation in 1972. It is going to be 53 years since the island paradise has been enchanting travelers from around the globe with its unrivaled hospitality and picturesque beauty.