Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen has left for Russia as the senior delegation to hold tourism discussions in order to foster cooperation.
As per a press release from the ministry, Minister Ameen will have a leading role in the senior delegation for Maldives from tomorrow until Friday for the diplomatic visit to Russia, and has left today.
The visit will cover Moscow and Saint Petersburg, with the main purpose being increasing cooperation within the tourism industry, strengthening aviation connections and stabilizing tourism business participation, said the ministry.
Along with the ministry, senior officials from Visit Maldives Corporation (VMC), Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), national airline Maldivian and tourism industry experts are a part of the delegation team.
According to the ministry:
- Russia is one of the most important tourism markets for Maldives.
- 192,453 tourists from Russia have come to Maldives as of last Wednesday, totaling 14.7 percent of total tourist numbers this year.
- Russia maintains its status as being the country with the second highest number of tourists to come to Maldives, with a total of 278,761 Russian tourists coming to Maldives in 2025.
The ministry went on to say that the visit will see the delegation team meet with senior representatives from the Russian government and offer cooperation toward the tourism and civil aviation industries, along with holding discussions on opportunities to increase flight capacity between both nations.
Arrangements have been made to hold high-level meetings with top-tier tour operators within Moscow and Saint Petersburg, travel trade partners, industrial associations, digital platforms and companies in the tourism industry. The ministry stated that these meetings are being held to gather market information in preparation for the upcoming tourist season and "Visit Maldives Year 2027", to identify what is increasing in popularity among tourists and finding important opportunities in joint advertising.
The ministry said that this visit will aid their efforts in making Maldives a popular destination in new markets, maintain Maldives' popularity and strengthen travel relations between Maldives and Russia. The ministry also stated that as the government, destination advertisers and representatives from the aviation and private industries are part of the same delegation, it will facilitate discussions regarding tourism policy, travel connections and market promotions.
