Maldives saw an increase in tourist arrivals in the first 15 days of August, compared to the last 15 days of July.

Velana International Airport (VIA)’s General Manager of Terminal Operations, Ibrahim Hussain said this during an interview with RaajjeTV on Thursday.

He said that 1,700 tourists had arrived in the island nation from border reopening day until August 1 and that this had doubled during the first 15 days on August.

Hence, within a month of border reopening, a total of 5,100 tourists arrived in the Maldives.

While the highest source market within this period in United Arab Emirates with 504 arrivals, United Kingdom is in close second with 421 arrivals while 336 Americans also arrived since July 15.

Hussain emphasized that tourist arrivals are expected to increase soon, after countries such as Russia, China and India reopen their borders.

Maldives’ borders were reopened for international travel on July 15 after months of closure following the Covid-19 pandemic

The country welcomed a record breaking 1,7 million tourist arrivals in 2019, and a two million target was made for 2020. However, following the pandemic, this has been reduced to 850,000 visitors.