India closing in on China in tourist arrivals to Maldives

While China remains on top in terms of tourist arrivals to Maldives, the latest statistics show India – which has been identified as the fastest developing market in the Maldivian tourism sector – jump to second place.

Statistics released by Tourism Ministry on Monday shows China continue to reign on top of the list of tourist arrivals to Maldives this year with total 140,265 arrivals by end of June. The number is a 10 percent growth compared to the same period in 2018.

The Chinese market currently makes up for 16.3 percent of the total tourist arrivals to Maldives. Though the market showed a decline in late 2018, the numbers began picking up again in 2019.

The second highest number of tourist arrivals came from India with total 82,140 arrivals by end of June. India has been identified as the fastest developing market in Maldivian tourism sector with a growth rate of 99.9 percent.

India had ranked fifth on the top tourist arrivals list in end of April, and third by end of May.

Several high profile Indian celebrities have recently spent their holidays in Maldives including Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan – serving as an additional promotion tool for Maldivian tourism in India.

Tourism Ministry has also recently announced plans to collaborate with Indian celebrities to further develop the Indian tourist market.

Other countries which made it to the top tourist arrivals list include Italy, Germany, UK, Russia, France, US, Japan and Australia.

The latest statistics also show a significant growth in tourist arrivals by region, as well as an overall growth in tourist arrivals from month to month.

Total 862,589 tourist arrivals were recorded in Maldives by end of June. The number is a 18.7 percent growth compared to the same period of 2018.

113,457 tourists visited Maldives in June alone.