Tourism

Maldives welcomes 750,000th tourist

Maldives on Sunday crossed another milestone in the tourist arrival target of Visit Maldives Year with the welcoming of its 750,000th tourist.

A Chinese tourist was the 750,000th person to visit the Maldives who arrived with his family from Xian, China.

Wang Shuai and his family were warmly welcomed by Moosa Zameer Hassan, Minister of Tourism, Wang Fukang, Ambassador of China to Maldives, together with senior officials from the Ministry of Tourism, Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), national carrier Maldivian, Maldives Airports Company Ltd. (MACL) and Maldives Immigration.

img:http://s3.psmnews.mv/images/660x400/14705562553464.jpg|Wang Shuai and family at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport after being welcomed as the 750,000th tourist to visit the Maldives this year - Photo: PSM News

Wang Shuai was presented with a commemorative plaque and a holiday in the Maldives sponsored by Meeru Island Resort & Spa.

Upon landing of the Maldivian flight, the guest was welcomed at the arrival terminal by MMPRC officials in colourful Maldivian traditional attire with a welcome bouquet, and escorted to the arrival lounge.

This is the third event held this year to celebrate the achievement of arrival milestones of Visit Maldives Year 2016.

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The government’s target of Visit Maldives Year 2016 is to achieve 1.5 million tourist arrivals by the end of the year.

The Visit Maldives Year events are being undertaken throughout the year locally and internationally. The biggest international event being the partnership with ITB, the biggest international tourism fair held in Berlin, Germany, as the host country.

Upcoming events include Maldives Photography competition and Surfing Competition to be held in the Maldives.

Since 2010, China has maintained its position as the no. 1 market to Maldives with more and more Chinese tourists visiting Maldives each year.

Chinese currently contributes to 25.4% of the total market share, and is the first Asian market to take the no. 1 position in terms of arrivals.