The Ministry of Tourism has revealed that a record number of tourists have visited the Maldives so far this year.
The latest statistics released by the tourism ministry showed that 1,752,706 tourists arrived in the Maldives as of December 12 this year. The figure surpassed the previous record of 1,702,831 tourists set in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The total tourist arrivals in the Maldives by December 12 this year was an increase of 49,875 compared to the same period in 2019. The largest number of tourists visited the Maldives from Russia with 197,364 arrivals, while 193,693 tourists visited from India, 180,524 visited from China, 143,988 visited from the United Kingdom (UK), and 127,618 visited from Germany. A total of 1,135 tourist establishments are open in the Maldives, consisting of 61,207 beds.
The pandemic-induced travel restrictions had led to a significant decline in tourist arrivals over the past three years, with 555,494 visited recorded in 2020, 1.2 visits in 2021 and 1.5 million visits in 2022. The government aims to welcome 1.8 million tourists by the end of this year to surpass the previous year's record of 1.6 million tourist arrivals.