Maldives has reached the 1 million mark in tourist arrivals recorded during 2021.
The 1 millionth tourist arrival for the year was recorded on October 29. The tourist was warmly welcomed at the airport by the Ministry of Tourism and Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC).
The tourism ministry and MMPRC have undertaken several campaigns and activities to boost tourist arrivals in the Maldives after reopening borders in July 2020, more than three months after borders were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the tourism industry has seen steady progress, indicated by the increasing number of tourist arrivals every month.
As per the latest statistics from the tourism ministry, over 102,000 tourists had visited the Maldives within this month, as of October 24. This is a 599% increase compared to the same period last year, although 2% lower compared to the 104,000 tourist arrivals recorded in the same period in 2019.
India is currently the top source market of tourists to the Maldives, accounting for 23% of all arrivals this year. Russia is second in the market with 19% of all arrivals this year.
The statistics show tourists spend an average of eight days in the Maldives.