Tourist arrivals increase by 11.8 percent

Tourist arrivals for the Maldives has increased by 11.8 percent during the first seven months, from January to July 2014, compared with the corresponding period last year.

Statistics published by the Ministry of Tourism show that tourist arrivals during this period reached a total of 701,704, while the amount for last year was 627,639, registering an increase of 11.8 percent.

During the month of July, highest tourist arrivals was from Asia and the Pacific. The total arrivals from the region reached 340,901 at the end of the period, registering a healthy 21.9 percent growth for the period from January to July 2014, compared with the same period of 2013.

Arrivals from Europe reached a total of 313,115 at the end of the period from January to July 2014, registering an increase of 1.4 percent for the period.

Maldives welcomed a total of 214,518 tourists from China during the period from January to July 2014, which was an increase of 19.8 percent compared with that of the same period in 2013.