A first quarter tourism outlook

At the end of 2021, the Maldives had welcomed over 1.3 million tourists from all over the world. The Maldivian tourism industry has been slowly recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020, and the statistics of 2021 provided by the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism are evident of the steady progress that the Maldives is making to regain its former glory as a world-renowned and coveted holiday destination.

According to data collected by the Ministry of Tourism, the biggest source market by the end of 2021 was India with 241,983 arrivals, a substantial number compared to most other source markets. Russia was the second largest source market with 208,072 arrivals, and Germany came in third with 86,170 arrivals. The overall statistics showed a 138 percent growth in tourist arrivals in comparison to the pandemic-stricken, life-changing year of 2020. This upward trend of tourism in 2021 shows great promise for the future of tourism in Maldives, and the beginning of 2022 has also shown similar potential.

Throughout the month of January 2022, the Maldives has already welcomed 131,805 tourists by both air and sea travel. Compared to the statistics of January 2021, this is a 43.1 percent increase in tourist arrivals for the month. Additionally, the average stay for these tourists is 9.2 days, which is roughly the same as in 2021, and the countrywide occupancy rate has increased by 5 percent in comparison to 2021. Russia is reportedly the biggest source market for January 2022, with 21,536 tourists making the trip from Russia to the Maldives. The United Kingdom is the second largest source market, accounting for 13,135 tourists. India is in the third place with 9,503 tourist arrivals, though they are closely followed by Italy; with 9,410, and Germany; with 9,233.

Maldives celebrates their Golden Jubilee of tourism this year, and many promotional activities and events are being conducted by the government and partners to establish a solid image of dependability, resilience, and safety. The Maldivian government aims to show the rest of the world that the Maldives is now “a safe haven” from the COVID-19 pandemic that has been plaguing the world continuously for the past few years. Stringent health and safety measures have been implemented into all the workings of the tourism industry to ensure the safety of all travellers.