Maldives welcomes over 100,000 visitors for ninth straight month in 2025

Tourist arrivals to the Maldives have surpassed the 100,000 mark for the ninth consecutive month in 2025, underscoring the island nation’s continued global appeal and resilience in the travel industry.

This was revealed by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment through its latest daily tourist arrival statistics.

As such, the ministry’s statistics revealed that 107,690 tourists touched down at Velana International Airport (VIA) between September 1 – 23. This, is a 12.9 percent increase from the 95,356 arrivals recorded in the same period of 2024 and much higher than the 91,148 tourist arrivals recorded in 2023.

Looking at the daily arrivals for September:

• 5,149 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 1
• 4,488 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 2
• 5,037 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 3
• 4,859 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 4
• 4,914 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 5
• 4,731 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 6
• 4,595 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 7
• 4,864 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 8
• 4,243 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 9
• 4,686 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 10
• 4,349 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 11
• 5,069 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 12
• 5,043 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 13
• 4,534 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 14
• 5,171 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 15
• 4,536 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 16
• 5,446 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 17
• 4,778 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 18
• 5,147 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 19
• 4,891 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 20
• 5,595 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 21
• 5,565 tourist arrivals were recorded on September 22

The statistics go on to reveal that 1,594,616 tourists were welcomed between January 1 and September 23. This is a 9.6 percent increase in comparison to the 1,454,588 arrivals recorded in the same period last year, and much higher than the 1,321,229 arrivals recorded in the same period of 2023.

On a monthly basis:

• 214,863 tourist arrivals were recorded between January 1 – 31.
• 214,091 tourist arrivals were recorded between February 1 – 28.
• 203,464 tourist arrivals were recorded between March 1 – 31.
• 198,322 tourist arrivals were recorded between April 1 – 30.
• 135,614 tourist arrivals were recorded between May 1 – 31.
• 141,772 tourist arrivals were recorded between June 1 – 30.
• 186,738 tourist arrivals were recorded between July 1 – 31.
• 192,058 tourist arrivals were recorded between August 1 – 31.

The ministry went 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 during April, 4,375 during May, 4,726 during June, 6,024 during July, and 6,601 during August. During September, 4,895 visitors have been recorded on a daily average.

Maldives continues to cement its reputation as a premier luxury travel destination, with statistics revealing that 73.5 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, 1,172,275 visitors have opted for the luxury of resorts. 347,132 tourists make up 21.8 percent of the tourists who stayed at guesthouses, 41,163 tourists make up 2.6 percent of the tourists who stayed at hotels, 32,828 tourists make up 2.1 percent of the tourists who stayed at liveaboard vessels and 1,219 who stayed at other facilities during this period.

The ministry’s statistics go on to indicate that China has reaffirmed its dominant position in the island nation's key economic sector, remaining the leader in tourist arrivals to the Maldives with no signs of slowing down as the ninth month of the year nears ending.

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 now contributes 15.9 percent of the market share with 253,177 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 12.1 percent of the market share with 193,109 arrivals.

The United Kingdom comes third contributing 8.9 percent of the market share with 142,270 arrivals.

Other top tourist markets in 2025 include:

• Italy contributing seven percent with 110,925 arrivals
• Germany contributing 6.9 percent with 110,781 arrivals
• India contributing 5.7 percent with 91,620 arrivals
• United States contributing 2.9 percent with 46,467 arrivals
• France contributing 2.7 percent with 42,564 arrivals
• Spain contributing 2.4 percent with 38,071 arrivals
• Australia contributing 1.9 percent with 29,700 arrivals

Maldives welcomed the one millionth tourist of the year on June 7. Kajal Singh arrived in the Maldives to spend her honeymoon at Malahini Kuda Bandos, and this was her first visit to the Maldives. Visit Maldives announced that this marked the fastest time in the nation's history that tourist arrivals reached the one-million mark within a calendar year. To commemorate the milestone, the Minister of Tourism and Environment attended a special ceremony at VIA to personally welcome the milestone visitor.

During the ceremony, which emphasized the Maldives' commitment to sustainable tourism, the one millionth tourist of 2025 was invited to plant a tree. Embracing the gesture, the visitor took part in a symbolic tree-planting at Hulhulé, underscoring the nation's ongoing environmental initiatives.

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.