Chinese tourists disembark from the inaugural flight of Xiamen Airlines at Velana International Airport. | Image courtesy: Maldives Airport Company Ltd. (MACL)
Visitors from China to the Maldives so far this year have reached 233,332, the Ministry of Tourism has confirmed. This is a 45 percent increase over the same period last year.
According to the latest Ministry statistics, tourists from China, totalling 14.8 percent of the market, make up the largest number from a single country.
Russia was second with 172,142 tourists visiting the Maldives; 61,190 less visitors than from China.
With the Maldives currently welcoming an average of 5,123 tourists per day, a total of 1,573,991 tourists have visited the country so far; an increase of 9.5 percent over the same period last year.
The Ministry expects to reach its target of two million tourists for the year 2024 by December.