Minister of Tourism and Environment Thoriq Ibrahim has said that although the number of flights coming to Maldives has decreased due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, the 'occupied seat capacity' of flights being held have increased significantly.
At a press conference held today by the Crisis Committee, formed to monitor and mitigate the impacts of the Middle East war on the Maldives, Thoriq said that on average, seat occupancy on flights increased from 65 percent to 70 percent last month.
He said that although the total number of flights have decreased, the demand for flights that do come has increased.
Of airlines currently travelling to Maldives, Russia's Aeroflot saw occupancy increase from 84 percent to 95 percent. Virgin Atlantic Airline's seat occupancy has increased to 90 percent.
Singapore Airlines' occupancy has gone from 64 percent to 78 percent. Turkish Airlines has seen a boost in occupancy from 77 percent to 92 percent, while Sri Lankan Airlines' occupancy has gone from 55 percent to 79 percent, the government said.
"Although there are fewer flights to Maldives due to the war, those who want to visit Maldives are finding ways, different routes, through which they continue to visit. This is a really good sign," Thoriq said.
Thoriq noted that even under the current difficult circumstances, resorts are conducting many marketing activities. This has ensured that Maldives' demand as a premium tourist destination has been maintained, he said.
Thoriq announced that the government is currently undertaking important measures to increase the frequency of flights to Maldives.
As part of these efforts, Turkish Airlines will increase weekly flights from five to six during the summer season. The airline has also said that they are working on increasing weekly flights from 10 to 14 at year-end, the minister said.
Tourist arrivals this month shows a 27 percent year-on-year decrease. Tourist arrivals so far this year has also decreased by 0.5 percent, with 680,000 tourist arrivals recorded.
