Ministry of Tourism has begun welcoming the first visitor from each country this year.
The tourism ministry is receiving the first visitor from each country as part of the activities to celebrate the golden jubilee year of tourism in the Maldives. As such, the ministry has welcomed visitors from nine countries so far, which are Italy, Spain, Germany, India, France, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the US.
The Maldives tourism industry was launched in 1972 with the opening of Kurumba Maldives Resort. The government has introduced the Golden Year of Tourism 2022 logo to be used to commemorate the golden jubilee of the country's tourism sector, in all official correspondence this year. The unique logo represents the characteristics of the tourism sector of Maldives and will also be used in promotional events held abroad.
The tourism ministry began a countdown campaign last year on social media in which pioneers of the Maldivian tourism industry shared special messages every day for the entire year. The ministry also plans to give out various awards to individuals as well as islands, resorts, and small businesses, and hold various activities to celebrate the golden jubilee. The ministry stated the main activities will begin in June, which includes an international tourism summit. The government will hold an event called Tourism Week to celebrate both the golden jubilee and World Tourism Day.
The Maldives recorded 1.3 million tourist visitors for the year 2021. The 1.3 millionth tourist visitor milestone was achieved on December 27, which also saw a new single-day record for tourist arrivals since reopening the borders, with 7,098 tourist arrivals. The Maldivian tourism industry has seen steady and significant progress since reopening the borders in July 2020.
The government and stakeholders of the tourism industry aim to register two million tourist arrivals during 2022.