Maldives’ monthly tourist arrivals surpass 100,000 in a first since border reopening

A young woman from Egypt, Hana Mohamed travelled to Maldives with her husband Ahmed Kamal Mostafa on their honeymoon. Living amid a pandemic, the newlyweds chose Maldives as their honeymoon destination after careful consideration.

Hana and her husband arrived at the Velana International Airport on an Emirates flight on Monday morning, becoming the 100,000^th tourist to visit Maldives this March.

It marks the first time for Maldives’ monthly tourist arrivals to surpass 100,000 since it reopened its borders.

Hana and Mostafa are spending their honeymoon in InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort, a picturesque resort island located in R. Atoll.

Hana – a first time visitor to Maldives – said they were delighted at the warm welcome they received at the airport.

“We will be glad to visit Maldives again,” said Hana, speaking to reporters at the airport. “We wanted some place with a nice view, nature and sea. And Maldives was the perfect choice.”

Statistics released by Tourism Ministry show Maldives recorded the highest daily tourist arrivals since border reopening on March 26, with 5,516 arrivals.

Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, Maldives received only 555,494 tourist arrivals last year. Experts say the tourism industry is rebounding faster than expected, and Tourism Ministry is targeting 1.5 million tourist arrivals this year.