China becomes 9th biggest tourist market of the Maldives

Since the Maldives opened its borders to the Chinese tourism market, the Asian powerhouse has become one of the 10 best foreign markets so far this year.

After the global pandemic and its subsequent consequences, after 3 years, direct flights to China began on January 18.

As per the statistics provided by the tourism ministry, 2,239 tourists have visited the Maldives from China up till today, which makes China the 9th country from which most tourists have visited.

The tourism minister Dr Abdulla Mausoom shared his thoughts regarding this on Twitter saying that it's very heartwarming to see so many tourists visit the Maldives from China.

The latest statistics provided by the tourism ministry show that till last Saturday 115.177 tourists have visited the Maldives. The 5 countries from where most tourists have visited the Maldives this year are Russia, Italy, India, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

This spike in tourist visits from China stems from the recommencement of direct flights from China to the Maldives by Beijing Capital Airlines. The Chinese airline will have 4 scheduled flights every week till February 22.

Beijing Capital Airlines are using A330-300 model aircraft, which seats 306 passengers.

 China was the number one tourist market for the Maldives pre-pandemic. When looking at the history of Chinese tourists, the Maldives became a popular tourist destination for the people of China back in 2010.

With the leniency to travel provided by Xi Jinping after being elected president in 2013, the Chinese populace looked to Maldives as their most favourable holiday getaway, and so since 2013, the number of Chinese tourists has increased year by year. 

The Maldives was heavily advertised to the Chinese market by MMPRC and other tourism industry professionals at the Shanghai World Expo 2010. According to experts, this was the event that really opened up the Chinese market to the Maldives.