Chinese tourist arrivals to resume after a three year hiatus

Chinese tourists arrivals to Maldives will resume next month and the country's popularity in China has not faded, Chinese Ambassador to Maldives H.E. Wang Lixin said.

China is resuming tourist arrivals to Maldives after a near three year hiatus, as the country prepares to reopen their borders after the Covid pandemic.

In an interview with Mihaaru, the Ambassador said that a large number of tourists will start coming to Maldives from January 8 when travel restrictions are lifted. She said Maldives is one of the most popular island destinations among the Chinese people.

She said that although the opportunity to travel to Maldives has been opened for Chinese tourists, it is expected to take some time to start direct flights between the two countries.

"It will take some time to schedule and start direct flights. China's Eastern Airlines is already in preparation," she said.

Ambassador Lixin also said Maldivian Airlines is also working to start direct flights between China and Maldives.

She said that the number of Chinese arrivals will not decrease even after this three year hiatus. However, it will take some time to reach the previous figures, the Ambassador said.

Prior to the Covid outbreak, China was the the top source market for tourist arrivals to Maldives. The country had received 280,000 arrivals from China in 2019, making for 17 percent of the tourist arrivals of that year.

Tourism Minister Dr Abdulla Mausoon said that if the China market opens next year, tourist arrivals will exceed 10 percent of projections.