Stats Say February 2021 Was A Fab Month for the Maldivian Tourism Industry

Tuesday 2nd of March 2021

Since borders reopened on July 15, 2020, the Maldivian tourism industry has been slowly but steadily rising. The sector was amazed by the support of tourists arriving into the nation for the high season and forecasting positively into 2021, ambitious goals have been set to welcome 1.5 million tourists by the end of the year.

Tourism growth of course is being held steady by the enforcement of stringent safety measures at all touch points. The nation-wide vaccination program kicked off focusing on frontliners first, counting tourism sector personnel as well and as of today, vaccinations of tourism sector staff are ongoing on resorts and islands with booming guesthouse businesses. As of February 24, 3,826 frontline tourism workers have been vaccinated.

This assures arriving tourists that vaccinated staff in addition to accredited safety protocols rolled out in the establishments puts guest safety is of utmost priority. The destination managed to keep the rate of positive cases among tourists below 0.08% of arrivals in January 2021.

According to statistics published by Ministry of Tourism, a total of 96,881 tourists arrived in February 2021, bringing the total arrivals of the year as of February 28 to 188,984. India dominates as the top source market to the country, with 44,039 arrivals by February 28, seconded closely by Russia with 40,698 arrivals. Both the markets are expected to be neck to neck since in 2020, they topped the source market chart with an 11% share each.

An average of 3400 tourists arrived on a daily basis, with peaking numbers over 4400 near Valentine’s day and a record-breaking stat of 5,268 on February 21, the most tourist arrivals on a single day so far in the year.

Tourist accommodations are in full swing across 18 Atolls in the Maldives, with 147 resorts, 11 Hotels and 359 guesthouses offering 42163 beds for operation. Adding to this are 2723 beds on 140 safari vessels that are also cruising through the archipelago. There are currently 24 airlines operating scheduled flights and 7 charter airlines flying from around the world to Velana International Airport.

Considering the numbers, growth looks prosperous for the Maldivian tourism sector. 

Photos: Visit Maldives and Velana International Airport on social media