A total of 246,399 tourists had visited the Maldives in February, the Tourism Ministry has announced. 

The Ministry revealed a 7.6 percent increase in comparison to February 2016, which it said is primarily owing to the Chinese New Year falling in late January in 2017. 

Its most recent statistic puts the number of total tourist outlets at 700, all amounting to 37,648 beds. 

Despite February’s increase being credited to an influx of Chinese travellers, the Ministry added that the majority of tourist arrivals into the country are from Europe. 

It also said that the number of Indian tourists is also rising.