Maldives breaks record for tourist arrivals in a day

Ministry of Tourism announced that the record for the number of tourist arrivals to Maldives in a single day was broken on Sunday.

As per the ministry, the daily arrivals suppressed 5000 on Sunday, February 21.

This broke the record of 4,856 arrivals recorded earlier this month on February 14.

According to figures by the tourism ministry, 147,744 tourists arrived in the Maldives between 1st February and 17th February.

Maldives recorded only 555,000 incoming tourists in 2020, a stark difference compared to the 1.7 million travellers that holidayed across the archipelago in 2019.

Like many other countries around the world, with the local emergence of COVID19 infections, Maldives closed its borders in March 2020, effectively bringing the tourism industry to a standstill.

However, after reopening gates on July 15, 2020, with restrictions the island nation managed to attract 172, 366 tourists before 2020 drew to an end.

Visitors are granted a 30-day free on-arrival visa with a confirmed booking for a stay at any registered tourist facility within the country. While there is no quarantine or testing on arrival, guests are required to fill out an online health declaration form and provide a negative PCR test conducted 96 hours prior to departure.

On average, Maldives recorded 3000 arrivals per day after the country opened up for travel, increasing to 4200 per day during December 2020.