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Maldives records over 35,000 tourist arrivals in November

Shahudha Mohamed
05 December 2020, MVT 10:42
Tourists arriving in Maldives following the reopening of borders. PHOTO: LUCAS JALEEL/TWITTER
Shahudha Mohamed
05 December 2020, MVT 10:42

Maldives Immigration, on Friday, revealed that over 35,000 tourists visited Maldives during the month of November, marking the highest number of monthly arrivals since the country reopened its borders on July 15.

As per statistics revealed by Immigration, the number of arrivals saw an increase of 66 percent in November, shooting up to 35,759 arrivals from September's 21,515.

The statistics place the daily average of visitors at 1,192. The highest number of visitors recorded in one day stood at 2,299 while the lowest number of visitors recorded in one day was 569.

Most of last month's visitors arrived in Maldives from Russia, consisting of a total of 1,581 tourists, followed closely by India, with 7,610 tourists. Visitors from United Kingdom took third place with a total of 2,093 arrivals throughout November.

Maldives reopened its borders to international passengers on July 15, after nearly four months since the state halted issuing on-arrival visas on March 27. Guesthouses were permitted to resume operations and kick start local tourism on October 15.

Although Maldives has noted a significant reduction in tourist arrivals compared to pre-COVID figures, the numbers have maintained a steady upward slope indicating a stable increase, but the country has a long way to go before pre-pandemic figures are achieved.

Prior to the border closure as a preventive measure amidst the ongoing pandemic, Maldives recorded an average of 4,200 visitors on the daily.

However, the Minister of Tourism earlier expressed hopes for the industry's recovery, estimating that 100,000 tourists would visit Maldives before the end of 2020. The tourism ministry expects a total of 500,000 arrivals for the year.

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