4.3 rise in tourist arrivals in first 3 months

Statistics show a 4.3 percent rise in tourist arrivals in the first three months of 2017 compared to the first three months of 2016.

Tourism arrival statistics for the month of March released by Ministry of Tourism this Thursday shows 359,053 tourists arrived in Maldives by end of March. The figure is a 4.3 percent increase compared to the 344,166 tourists who visited Maldives by end of March in 2016.

Despite the overall rise in tourist arrivals, arrivals for the month of March alone shows a 2.1 percent drop compared to March of 2016.

115,131 tourists visited Maldives in March, 2016, but a fewer 112,665 tourists visited Maldives in March, this year.

The statistics show a 16.3 percent drop in tourist arrivals from the country’s biggest market – China – in March. China belongs to a huge sector of the Maldivian tourist market – Asia/South Pacific region. 40,302 tourists from the region visited Maldives in March; a 2.5 percent drop.

Biggest European markets UK and Germany saw bigger drops in tourist arrivals in March. The UK market dropped by 9.3 percent and the German market by 23 percent.

The tourist bed occupancy rate for the month of March dropped from 70.9 percent to 60.7 percent.