Maldives closes in on ambitious tourism targets

The Maldives is making significant strides towards its tourism goals for the year. With a target of welcoming 1.9 million tourists, the nation is already celebrating a remarkable achievement.

As of now, the Maldives has played host to 1.2 million tourists, marking a substantial increase compared to the same period last year. According to statistics released by the Ministry of Tourism, this year's tourist arrivals have surged by 14 percent, surpassing the one million mark much earlier than in previous years.

To attain this ambitious goal, the Maldives must maintain a robust pace of arrivals in the coming months. Approximately 180,000 tourists per month are needed over the next four months to reach the 1.9 million target. Currently, the nation sees an average of 5,000 tourist arrivals daily. 

One of the notable factors contributing to this success is the consistent growth in arrivals from key markets such as Russia and India. Both of these markets have been growing substantially, especially since the start of the pandemic. Russia, in particular, has emerged as a significant contributor, with 144,000 Russian tourists having visited the Maldives.  Another market that has been growing in the Maldives since the start of 2023 has been China. While this market was popular in the Maldives, following the pandemic the Chinese market took a toll. And now, over 100,000 tourists each from India and China have chosen the Maldives as their destination, further diversifying the country's tourism portfolio. 

This surge in tourist arrivals has brought optimism to the Maldivian tourism industry. While the initial state budget for the year projected 1.8 million tourist arrivals, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has expressed confidence in the possibility of surpassing this target and achieving 1.9 million arrivals by year-end.