Tourist arrivals increased 7 percent year-on-year in September this year, according to data released by Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
The increase in arrivals comes at a time Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) and other tourism industry stakeholders have intensified efforts to promote travel to the Maldives.
According to the monthly economic review report published by MMA, the month of September saw a total of 101,909 visitors.
During September 2016, the total tourist arrivals decreased by 9 percent in monthly terms while it increased by 7 percent in annual terms, the report said. The annual growth in tourist arrivals was on account of a significant rise in arrivals from Europe and the Middle East which offset the decline in arrivals from China.
In September 2016, the operational bed capacity increased in annual terms while the average duration of stay slightly declined to 5.3 days from 5.5 days in September 2015, according to MMA.
Meanwhile, reflecting the annual growth of total bed nights by 2 percent, the occupancy rate of the industry marginally increased to 64 percent annually.