Ministry of Tourism has revealed that 35 international airlines currently fly to the Maldives. The 35 international airlines include scheduled and charter flights. Many airlines are starting flights to the Maldives during the peak tourist season.
In addition, China has opened its borders and the country is resuming flights to the Maldives. Beijing Capital Airlines launched flights to the Maldives on January 18. As such, two more Chinese airlines are also scheduled to fly to the Maldives. They are China Eastern Airlines and Hong Kong Airlines. China Eastern Airlines will operate flights from January 28 to March 25. The flights will be operated from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Velana International Airport (VIA). The airline will use 232-seat aircraft during these flights and operate one flight per week. Meanwhile, Hong Kong Airlines will start flights to the Maldives in January and the flights will continue until March 23. The airline will operate three flights a week from Hong Kong International Airport to VIA. The airline will use 292-seat aircraft during these flights.
Many international airlines are flying to the Maldives, and the number of tourist arrivals is also increasing. According to the latest statistics published by the tourist ministry, 138,593 tourists visited the Maldives as of January 25 this year, which is an increase of 29.7% compared to 106,826 tourists during the same period in 2022. The Maldives now receives an average of 5,544 tourists per day with tourists spending an average of eight days.
The statistics also show that at the end of last year, the highest number of tourists visited from India. However, the statistics have changed and the highest number of tourists are now arriving from Russia. The second highest number of tourists arrive from India, while the third highest number of tourists arrive from Italy.