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Maldives records 1 million tourist arrivals

Fathmath Shaahunaz
21 August 2019, MVT 21:14
Tourism Minister Ali Waheed speaks at press conference. PHOTO: NISHAN ALI / MIHAARU
Fathmath Shaahunaz
21 August 2019, MVT 21:14

Maldives recorded one million tourist arrivals for this year on August 2, announced Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference held at the ministry, he declared high hopes that the government will meet its target of bringing 1.5 million tourists to Maldives by its first anniversary, on November 17.

"Based on our statistics, we're working to put in more effort over the next four months to bring tourist arrivals up to 1.5 million by the first anniversary of this administration", he said.

Tourist arrivals in July numbered at 132,144, an increase of eight percent compared to the same period last year. The total number of tourists by the end of July amounted to 994,733, a 17.2 percent increase from 2018.

The highest number of visitors hailed from China, followed by India, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Statistics show that, based on region, the highest number of arrivals were from Europe overall.

According to the tourism ministry, 49,095 tourist beds were registered by the end of last July, while 45,983 beds were operated. The bed occupancy for this period was 64 percent, while tourists spent an average of 6.3 days in the country.

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