Maldives sees 1.3% hike in September tourist arrivals

The Maldives has seen a 1.3 percent increase in tourist arrivals in September compared to the same period last year as tourism rebounds after visitor numbers plummeted in the wake of the Middle East conflict.

The latest monthly statistics released by the Tourism Ministry shows the Maldives welcomed 134,339 as of Sunday. This marks a 1.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The total arrivals this year has reached 1.59 million. However, the figure marks a 3.3 percent decline from the same period last year, when the country recorded 1.64 million visitors.

73.6 percent of tourists stayed at resorts, while 22 percent stayed at guesthouses, 2.3 percent stayed at hotels, 1.9 stayed at tourist vessels, and the remaining 0.2 stayed at other facilities.

China continues to dominate as the top source market for tourist arrivals to the Maldives, with over 296,000 visitors so far this year.

TOP SOURCE MARKETS:

• China: 296,120 visitors (19 percent)
• Russia: 227,643 visitors (14.6 percent)
• UK: 119,286 visitors (7.7 percent)
• Germany: 98,052 visitors (6.3 percent)
• Italy: 97,668 visitors (6.3 percent)
• India: 89,811 visitors (5.8 percent)
• USA: 37,028 visitors (2.4 percent)
• France: 36,816 visitors (2.4 percent)
• Australia: 36,668 visitors (2.4 percent)
• Spain: 31,877 visitors (2 percent)

The Maldives experienced a sharp dip in arrivals due to global headwinds and flight disruptions from the conflict in the Middle East which erupted on February 28.

Visitor numbers have picked up since then, with the Maldives recording the highest number of arrivals since the outbreak of the war in August.

Tourism Minister Mohamed Ameen has expressed confidence this year’s arrivals will not fall below last year’s, when the country recorded an all-time-high of 2.2 million visitors.