Direct flights between Maldives and China expected to resume in October

Direct flights between Maldives and China will hopefully resume in October, states Chinese ambassador Wang Lixin.

In an interview to Public Service Media (PSM) on Friday, Wang noted Maldives is a world-famous tourist destination, and one of the most favored by Chinese tourists.

She said she expected a significant increase in the number of tourists and visitors moving between the two countries in the near future, with the visa waiver agreement and as the COVID-19 situation improves.

“We are also working on resuming direct flights between the two countries. Hopefully it can start next month, which will greatly facilitate the people-to-people exchanges,” she said.

Wang said she was very optimistic about the future development of bilateral relations between Maldives and China.

China had been the top source market for tourist arrivals to Maldives before it halted direct flights due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 267,875 Chinese tourists visited Maldives in 2019, making for 17.5 percent of the record 1.7 billion tourist arrivals to the island destination that year.