Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed has discussed ways to increase tourists from China and India as Maldives aims to attract 2 million tourists by the end of 2020.
The minister held the discussions during meetings were held with the Ambassador of India to Maldives Sunjay Sudhir and Ambassador of China to the Maldives Zhang Lizhong. The meetings took place at Ministry of Tourism as both ambassadors visited the minister to congratulate him as Maldives reached its target of attracting 1.5 million tourists this year. Both ambassadors congratulated Minister Ali Waheed for the achievements in the tourism sector and discussed ways in which Maldives can attract more tourists from the closest two allies.
India and China are two growing tourist markets in Maldives. China was the single biggest market of tourist arrivals by October 2019, according to statistics publicised by Ministry of Tourism. In this regard, 252,245 tourists arrived in Maldives from China, while Indian tourist arrivals were 131,000, which is the second highest single market.
As the country achieved the target it set for this year, preparations and planning is underway to market the sector more in new destinations.