The number of tourist arrivals from South Asian countries have increased significantly in the first quarter of the year. The arrivals from South Asian countries increased by about 2%, according to the statistics released by Ministry of Tourism.
From South Asian countries, most number of tourists arrived to Maldives from India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In the first three months of the year 42,121 tourists arrived in Maldives from South Asian countries, which is an increase of 64% compared to the 25,667 tourists in the same period of last year, according to statistics.
The arrivals saw a boost as the Indian market increased significantly. In this regard, over 36,000 tourists from India visited Maldives, which is an increase of 85.5% compared to the visitors from the same month last year. Only 19,435 tourists arrived from India during the first quarter of last year.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka was ranked second from the South Asian market, with 2,800 tourists arriving in the first quarter, which is a 5% increase compared to last year.
Moreover, the overall number of tourist arrivals to Maldives in the first quarter increased by 15% compared to the same period of last year. 482,978 tourists arrived Maldives in the first three months of this year.