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Maldives tourist arrivals increase by 30 percent in January

Mohamed Rehan
05 February 2023, MVT 11:43
A few tourists on an island hopping excursion in Male' City; these travelers arrived at the country's capital on a cruise liner. The Maldives expects an increment in the guest arrivals coming via cruise liners this year.
Mohamed Rehan
05 February 2023, MVT 11:43

The tourist arrivals to the Maldives increased by 30.9 percent in January, the Ministry of Tourism reported.

According to the ministry’s recent statistics, the total number of tourist arrivals stood at 178,159 by the end of the review date on February 1.

In January 2023, the total tourist arrivals reached 172,536 which is a 30.9 percent increase compared to the 131,762 arrivals in the same month last year.

Additionally, from February 1 to 4, tourist arrivals observed a 28.3 percent increase as well, with 5,623 tourists entering the country this year, compared to the 4,384 arrivals recorded in the first four days of February last year.

The daily arrival average in January was 5,566; in February, it is at 5,623. The average duration of stay in January was observed at 8.1 days, which increased slightly to 8.2 days so far in February.

Top 10 Markets

1. Russia: 24,154 | 13.6 percent

2. India: 19,390 | 10.9 percent

3. Italy: 17,159 | 9.6 percent

4. UK: 15,367 | 8.6 percent

5. Germany: 10,897 | 6.1 percent

6. USA: 7,984 | 4.5 percent

7. France: 6,771 | 3.8 percent

8. China: 5,985 | 3.4 percent

9. Switzerland: 3,491 | 2.0 percent

10. Poland: 3,358 | 1.9 percent

The top markets list has changed significantly since the previous review date of January 25. The most notable changes are Switzerland’s re-entry into the list after replacing Kazakhstan in the ninth spot and the entry of Poland after replacing South Korea in the tenth spot; Poland is a new market to enter the top ten list.

For the first time since 2019, China has entered the top ten list. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country was consistently at the top of the arrivals list. China resumed flight operations to the Maldives on January 18 with regular flights from three airlines.

Minister of Tourism Dr. Abdulla Mausoom had also projected a 10 percent increment in annual tourist figures once China resumed flights to the Maldives. The Maldives government has set an annual arrival target of 1.8 million, which is also based on China’s aviation resumption.

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