August sees highest tourist arrivals since onset of Middle East war

Statistics from Tourism Ministry shows that August recorded the highest tourist arrivals since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East.

Travel across the Middle East was severely disrupted following sudden US strikes on Iran on February 28, bringing air traffic along key regional routes to a standstill. As the region serves as a major transit hub for tourists travelling to the Maldives, the disruption had a significant impact on the country’s tourism industry.

As a result, tourist arrivals in March declined by 19.8 percent compared to the same period last year. The downward trend continued into April, with arrivals falling by 24 percent, before recording a marginal 1 percent recovery in May.

However, arrivals declined again by 12 percent in June. Following a further 1 percent decrease in July, the tourism sector recorded its strongest performance last month, with arrivals increasing by 2 percent in August.

According to data from the Tourism Ministry, more than 1.4 million tourists had visited the Maldives as of last Tuesday. Despite this, the figure represents a 3 percent decline compared to tourist arrivals recorded during the corresponding period last year.

China remained the Maldives’ largest source market, accounting for 262,386 arrivals, followed by Russia with 209,179 tourists.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom accounted for more than 100,000 tourist arrivals, while over 93,000 visitors travelled to the Maldives from Italy.

In terms of accommodation, one million tourists stayed at resorts, while 300,000 stayed at guesthouses and 33,000 opted for hotels.

The government is targeting to attract 2.5 million tourists to the Maldives this year.