Tourist arrivals so far this year has seen a year-on-year decrease of 6 percent, according to Tourism Ministry data. 

Statistics shared by the Tourism Ministry shows that as of yesterday, Maldives has welcomed 851,483 tourists within the year. 

Last year, the figure during the same period was at 908,542, indicating a 6 percent drop this year. 

Tourism in Maldives in being heavily impacted due to closure of airspace in the Middle East due to the ongoing war, as well the rising cost of fuel. 

Middle Eastern countries are frequent transit hubs for tourists travelling to Maldives. 

Air travel in the Middle East has been gradually resuming over the past weeks, however tourist arrivals to Maldives still remains significantly low. 

Although flights have resumed, air fares have risen exponentially due to higher fuel costs. 

May 1 to 16 last year saw 77,798 tourist arrivals recorded in Maldives, while this year, the number has dropped to 70,114. 

Average daily tourist arrivals was at 6,680 last year, while this year, it is at 6,261.

This year, too, the leading source market is China, with 133,724 Chinese tourists having visited the Maldives this year, as of May 16. 

The second highest number of tourists, 114,719, have arrived from Russia, with the UK next on the list with 75,487 tourists.