More Than 13,500 Tourists Rediscover the Sunny Side of Life Since Border Reopening

Sunday 20th of September 2020

More Than 13,500 Tourists Rediscover the Sunny Side of Life Since Border Reopening

The Maldives closing its borders on March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, took a huge toll on its major source of income – the tourism industry. However, with the Maldives reopening its borders on July 15th, a small ray of light shone on the tourism industry as the number of tourists were way beyond the expectations of the sunny side of life.

A country that once used to welcome hundreds of tourists on a single day, decided to be complacent with a humble beginning, but over the months up till September 2020, the number of tourists surpassed the Maldives expectations as it showed a significant jump every month.

The Maldives has recorded a total of over 13,516 tourists, arriving to Maldives during the first two months, since the border reopened, let alone, 4458 tourists arriving in the Maldives, just on September. It has been found that tourist arrivals have increased by 61% during the second month, and hence, Maldives is hopeful that with the right marketing strategies, the number of tourists will increase even more.

It has also been noted that from July to August, there is a 69.36% increase in arrivals and a 62.15% increase in departures, making the total air traffic movements, 5.25%. And as of August, to September, the numbers fell, giving a negative difference of 2.99% in arrivals and a negative difference of 19.71% in departures.

Ahmed Athif, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, at Ministry of Tourism, Maldives, said that there have been a record number of 708 tourist arrivals just on Friday, September 18th, since border reopening and commented that it was a good sign and with combined efforts, the sunny side of life will once again be restored.