June has seen a year-on-year drop of 12 percent in tourist arrivals.

Statistics from the Tourism Ministry indicate that there were 125,000 tourist arrivals recorded in June. The previous year, 143,000 arrivals were seen in the same month. 

As of now, Maldives has welcomed one million tourists this year, while last year, the figure had been at 1.1 million. This represents a drop of approximately 5 percent. 

The war in the Middle East severely affected tourism in the country, with March and April seeing a jarring 20 to 24 percent decrease in tourist arrivals. Although figures in May showed a 2 percent increase, June, once again, saw the numbers drop. 

Generally, the month of May each year sees a decrease in tourist arrivals from European countries. Even last year, the majority of tourists visiting in June were from Asian countries. 

On average, 5,900 tourist arrivals are recorded each day this year, which is a year-on-year decrease of 300 compared to last year. 

The government continues to work towards reaching the target of 2.2 million tourist arrivals before the end of the year.