Maldives on Tuesday achieved the 1.6 million tourist arrivals target for the year.
Tejas Sanjay Kothari from India became the 1.6 millionth tourist of the year as he arrived at the Maldives’ main Velana International Airport on an Indigo flight that landed Tuesday afternoon. This is his first visit to the Maldives and he is visiting the country with his wife on their honeymoon.
Vice President Faisal Naseem, tourism minister Abdulla Mausoom and Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) Managing Director Mohamed Thoyyib welcomed the 1.6 millionth tourist at a ceremony held at Velana International Airport to mark the achievement of this year’s tourism target.
As a gift, he was given a free stay from LUX* South Ari Atoll. He also received other tokens.
According to calculations based on the current average number of daily tourist arrivals for the rest of the year:
- 1.66 million tourists to arrive by the end of the year
- That is more than the 1,632,432 tourists expected to arrive in the ‘moderate case’ scenario forecast included in the approved 2022 budget
Considering other scenarios:
- If tourists arrive next month at the same level as December 2021, 1,654,044 tourists will arrive by the end of the year
- If tourist arrivals this December are the same as those in December 2019 before Covid, 1,661,113 tourists will visit the country by the end of the year
The country has set a target of two million tourists for next year.
If the target is achieved, it will be the first year that the country will receive such a large number of tourists in a year. So far, the highest number of tourist arrivals to the Maldives was recorded in 2019 before Covid. A total of 1.7 million tourists visited the Maldives that year.
