Indian tourists have started to delay their planned trips to Maldives due to the new Covid variant Omicron.

Omicron variant, initially discovered and flagged to the world by South Africa towards the end of November, was confirmed in Maldives on December 5.

As reported by Indian newspapers, according to Indian travel agencies, bookings were being delayed as the Omicron variant have been found in both countries. Trips originally scheduled for the end of December and the beginning of January have been pushed to March.

The Travel Agent Federation's Joint Secretary had stated that the bookings were being delayed as cancellations do not result in a refund.

India has become the largest market of tourist arrivals to Maldives since the pandemic started. Travel between the two countries were started after establishing a "travel bubble" between the two nations. Maldives have welcomed over 261,000 tourists this year from India, a 79 percent increased compared to 2019.