Maldives records over 107,000 tourist arrivals from Russia

Statistics released by Tourism Ministry show 107,102 tourists have visited Maldives from Russia – which climbed up to become the top source market for tourist arrivals this year following the travel restrictions on tourists from India.

According to the weekly updates released by Tourism Ministry, Maldives recorded 457,747 tourist arrivals by the end of last Wednesday.

While Russia ranked top source market for tourist arrivals with 107,102 visitors, India ranked second with 89,442 visitors. This is followed by 23,389 visitors from Ukraine, and 16,672 visitors from Kazakhstan.

Others on the list of top 10 source markets for tourist arrivals include United States, United Kingdom, Romania, France and Czech Republic.

Maldives recorded 3,364 tourist arrivals within the first two days of June, and average daily arrivals have dropped to 1,600.

The drop in arrivals is attributed to the decision to suspend tourist visas to travelers from India – which is experiencing an alarming rise in COVID-19 infections. India had been the top source for tourist arrivals to Maldives prior to the travel restrictions.

Other contributing factors to the low numbers include the onset of the tourism offseason, advisories issued by countries such as the UK and US warning against travel to Maldives due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, and the closure of borders in some countries.

Tourism Ministry states that though tourist arrivals dropped in May due to additional restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Maldives, the most recent data shows market rebounding continue with strong positive growth rates this year compared with the same period in 2019 and 2020.

“While the Central/Eastern Europe and South Asia regions have made full recovery and performed above pre-COVID levels, Africa, Europe, and Americas are also showing signs of recovery,” said Tourism Ministry in their weekly update.

Maldives currently has 47,452 beds in 728 operational tourist facilities.