The Maldives Welcomes Its 1.6 Millionth Visitor- Achieving The Tourist Arrival Target for 2022
Wednesday 21st of December 2022
Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has vividly celebrated the arrival of the 1.6 millionth tourist to the Maldives, hosting a special ceremony to welcome the guest. The milestone achievement was set by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solid during his Presidential Address earlier in the year and was achieved by the joint efforts of several related parties working together. This included Government agencies, industry stakeholders and travel trade partners from different parts of the world.
The 1.6 millionth tourist was Tejas Sanjay Kothari, an individual from India who arrived in the Maldives aboard Air Vistara Flight No. UK271. On his first visit to the Maldives, Tejas Sanjay was accompanied by his spouse and the couple is planning to spend their honeymoon in the Maldives. Upon arrival, Tejas Sanjay was conferred special gifts from MMPRC, The Ministry of Tourism and other stakeholders to mark the occasion.
Tejas Sanjay was received and escorted to the event area by a cultural procession of traditional Maldivian Boduberu. Afterwards, a traditional Maldivian dance performance was carried out to honour the visitor following which he was presented with exclusive gifts from MMPRC, MACL, Tourism Ministry, Maldives Immigration and Maldives Customs Service. Among the gifts featured include a traditional Maldivian Tannu, conferred to the visitor by Vice President H.E Faisal Naseem, a gift hamper from Visit Maldives and a free holiday voucher from LUX* South Ari Atoll.
Congratulating the industry and all parties involved, CEO & MD of MMPRC, Mr Thoyyib Mohamed remarked that the golden year of tourism is strewn with records for milestones related to the tourism sector. He said “We are celebrating yet another milestone following our recent momentous wins at the WTA. It is no small feat for a tiny nation like ours to be crowned the Leading Destination thrice in a row. Our perseverance during the harshest of times that the world has seen recently led us to these achievements”.
Speaking further he said” All this is undeniably the result of the Government’s foresight in policy formulation; implementation during and post-covid; the sacrifices and hard work of employees of the tourism sector; the joint efforts of every single tourism sector stakeholder; and the noteworthy efforts of MMPRC staff and our network of global travel trade partners. We move forward now, with even more determination to uphold this level of service excellence.”
The Minister of Tourism, Dr Abdulla Mausoom stated “Appreciate the engagement and support of Travel and Tourism Industry stakeholders in achieving yet another milestone of Maldives Tourism success story. Congratulations all! This quick rebound of Maldives tourism to pre-pandemic level is a clear indication of the visionary leadership of His Excellency President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, sound tourism policies and the strong partnership between the government and the private sector”.
‘Last year, the Maldives achieved a 1.3 million tourist arrival mark set by the Government. This year’s target was a 23.1% increment compared to last year.
