The Ministry of Tourism has revealed that 5,715 tourists visited the Maldives on the first day of the year.
Italy topped the list of source markets on January 1, with 1,129 tourists visiting the island nation. This was followed by 1,018 tourists from Russia, 42 from the UK, 372 from Germany and 245 from Kazakhstan.
The Tourism Ministry has noted a shift in trends in tourism arrivals, with significantly lesser arrivals from last year’s strongest markets, China and India. While only 117 tourists arrived from China on January 1, placing it last on the top ten source market list, India ranked seventh with 215 arrivals.
Last year, the Maldives achieved a record-breaking 2 million tourist arrivals, and the government aims to surpass this amount this year. Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal had previously announced the government’s goal of generating USD 5 billion in tourism revenue.
In recent months, an increase in visitors from wealthier countries has been reported, a trend that has also led to a rise in private jet arrivals.
There are currently 1271 tourism establishments in the Maldives, including 172 resorts, 15 hotels, 929 guest houses and 155 safari vessels.