After a dip in May, tourist arrivals picked up last month with 110,912 visitors as of 28 June, up 7% from the same period last year.
The Maldives welcomed 920,156 tourists by 28 June, a healthy increase of 14.2% from last year. The average duration of stay was 7.7 days.
With an anticipated daily average of 4,300 arrivals this month, the tourism ministry expects to reach the one millionth tourist milestone in the third week of July. The one millionth tourist of 2022 was welcomed on 12 August.
“As Maldives braces for the high season with new airlines commencing direct flights to Maldives, significant boost in arrivals is recorded for the month of June and the positive growth is expected to continue throughout the year,” the tourism ministry said.
After overtaking Russia, India was the top market with 109,190 tourists and an 11.9% market share, followed by Russia (107,985 tourists), the United Kingdom (79,913 tourists), Germany (65,757 tourists) and Italy (60,322 tourists). After growing at a fast pace since direct flights resumed in January, China was the sixth largest market with 62,051 tourists as of 28 June.
“With the current arrival trend, total arrivals for 2023 is expected to surpass the initial estimate of 1.8 million for the year,” the tourism ministry said.
There were 170 resorts, 160 safari vessels, 906 guesthouses and 13 hotels in operation across the country with a combined bed capacity of 60,908.
