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Tourism revenue increases by 10.5 percent in June

Rae Munavvar
19 July 2018, MVT 09:16
tourist arrival 2016 inia macl airport, tourism
Rae Munavvar
19 July 2018, MVT 09:16

In comparison to 2017 figures for the month of June, the amount of tourists show an increase of 10.5 percent this year.

According to Maldives Immigration, based on booking information from tourists staying at ministry-registered tourism accommodation, the country welcomed 93 786 tourists in the last month alone. Additionally, the number of tourists to have visited Maldives from January to June 2018, totals up to 726 515 visitors.

The statistics indicate that approximately 51.3 percent of all tourists hail from European nations, a 16.3 percent increase from 2017 with a total of 372 388 European tourists arriving between January to June 2018.

The second largest market segment are visitors hailing from the Asia-Pacific nations which amount to 37.6 percent of tourist arrivals. Maldives welcomed 290 542 tourists from the region between January to June 2018, a figure that is up 3.3 percent compared to that of last year.

Thus far this year, Maldives has welcomed 34 234 tourists from the United States, 23 130 tourists from the Middle East, 6 127 tourists from Africa, at 4.7, 3.2 and 0.8 percent of total arrivals respectively.

Tourism Ministry revealed that between January to June 2018, the top-ten market segments for tourists arrivals by country are led by China (17.5 percent) followed by Germany (8.0 percent), United Kingdom (7.9 percent), Italy (7.8 percent), India (5.7 percent), Russia (5.3 percent), France (4.2 percent), America (2.8 percent), Japan (2.6 percent) and finally Switzerland (2.4 percent).

Although the statistics indicate a slight dip in Chinese tourist arrivals compared to that of the previous year, all the other market segments show significant increases. Russian arrivals increased by as much as 25 percent, French by 23 percent, Italians by 18 percent, Americans by 12.5, Germans by 12.7 percent, British by 11.2 percent and Indians by 9.5 percent.

Tourism statistics show that on average, occupancy was at 41 209 beds between January to June 2018, out of a total of 42 806 bed places registered at the Tourism Ministry, while the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments also increased by 13.5 percent.

The total number of beds occupied during the same period among resorts, hotels, guesthouses, liveaboards and safaris are estimated to be 4 707 194, at a bed occupancy rate of 63.4 percent.

Compared with last year’s data, these figures have increased by 2.3 percent, with tourists even extending their stays to an average of 6.5 days per visit.

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