Tourist stays in Maldives on the rise since reopening

Statistics have shown that the number of days spent in the Maldives by tourists on average has increased significantly after the Maldives reopened its borders when compared with before the border closure back in March.

The Tourism Ministry released statistics showing that on average tourists had spent 9.7 days in the Maldives since the border reopening back in July. Before the border closure back in March, tourists on average spent around 6.3 days in the Maldives. 

In an interview with Sun, Tourism Minister Dr. Abdulla Mausoom described the increase in bed nights as an achievement for now. The Minister attributed this to the weakened tourist arrival figures, which meant that the increase in stay duration meant a rise in income. 

The number of arrivals has been increasing as expected since the border reopening. Up until November 4, the nation has recorded more than 44,000 tourists. In total, 427,212 tourist arrivals to the Maldives have been recorded in 2020. 

The highest number of arrivals are from Russia, with a total of 9519 tourists. The UK comes in second with 3,817 tourists, while arrivals from the UAE and USA have been recorded at 3,683 and 3,484 respectively. The number of Indian tourists has been recorded at 2,345 at the same time. 

With the inclusion of local airlines, FlyMe and Maldivian, a total of 15 international airlines are currently operating to the Maldives. The highest number of arrivals were recorded from Emirates, with 16,276 arrivals. The number of operating airlines is set to increase by 11 by the end of December, according to authorities.