NewsSeptember 8, 2024

China Takes the Lead in Maldives Tourism with Over 200,000 Visitors in 2024

The Maldives is experiencing a significant tourism surge, with over 200,000 tourists from China this year, making up 15% of the total arrivals.

This growth has also been bolstered by the resumption of direct flights from China, including Xiamen Airlines, Chongqing Airlines, and China Eastern, making travel to the Maldives more accessible for Chinese tourists.

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With 1.3 million tourists welcomed so far, the country is steadily progressing toward its ambitious goal of 2 million visitors by December 2024. To meet this target, an additional 700,000 tourists are expected over the next few months.

According to the latest report from the Ministry of Tourism, Russia follows China with 149,920 visitors, while the UK and Italy have contributed 119,189 and 102,412 visitors, respectively. Germany rounds out the top five with 97,804 arrivals.

August witnessed a 14% increase in tourist arrivals compared to the previous month. However, the first week of September saw a slight reduction of 3% in arrivals year-over-year. Currently, the Maldives is averaging 3,900 tourist arrivals per day.

In a strategic move to boost tourist arrivals, the Maldivian government focused on attracting more visitors from India, the top source of tourists to the Maldives last year. India has already contributed 83,000 tourists this year, and the Tourism Ministry is implementing targeted campaigns to raise India’s position to third place by year’s end.

With these targeted efforts and ongoing promotions, the Maldives will likely uphold its trend of substantial tourist growth and meet its yearly objectives.