Chinese Tourism Takes the Lead in Maldives’ Arrival Stats

Monday 9th of September 2024

The Maldives is witnessing a notable surge in tourism, with over 200,000 visitors from China this year alone, representing 15% of the total arrivals. This uptick is partly due to the resumption of direct flights from China, including services by Xiamen Airlines, Chongqing Airlines, and China Eastern, which have made travel to the Maldives more accessible for Chinese tourists.

So far in 2024, the Maldives has welcomed 1.3 million tourists and is on track to achieve its ambitious goal of 2 million visitors by December. To meet this target, an additional 700,000 tourists are anticipated in the coming months.

The latest data from the Ministry of Tourism shows that Russia is the second-largest source of visitors, with 149,920 arrivals. The UK and Italy follow with 119,189 and 102,412 visitors, respectively, while Germany completes the top five with 97,804 arrivals.

August saw a 14% rise in tourist arrivals compared to the previous month, although the first week of September experienced a slight 3% decrease in year-over-year arrivals. Currently, the Maldives is averaging 3,900 tourists per day.

In a bid to boost arrivals further, the Maldivian government is focusing on attracting more visitors from India, which was the top source of tourists last year. With 83,000 Indian tourists already this year, the Tourism Ministry is running targeted campaigns to elevate India's ranking to third place by year-end. These efforts are expected to sustain the Maldives' robust growth in tourism.