Russian tourists are saving the Maldives hospitality industry. According to the data published by the country's tourism ministry, Russia currently dominates the market with 23.4% of foreign visitors, or 107,102 people since the beginning of the year. It is noteworthy that before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia ranked only sixth in terms of the number of arrivals to the Maldives.
In total, 457,747 tourists arrived at the Velana International Airport (VIA) from January 1 to June 2. The second place in the number of arrivals is confidently held by India - 19.5% of tourists, the third place is occupied by Germany, which accounts for 5.5% of arrivals. Ukraine (5.1%), Kazakhstan (3.6%), USA (3.5%), Great Britain (2.9%) are also considered to be some of the largest tourist markets in the Maldives. According to statistics, visitors stay for an average of nine days, with an average of about 3 thousand tourists in the Maldives every day.
While tourist numbers are half that of 2019, the Ministry of Tourism said tourism from Central / Eastern Europe and South Asia has fully recovered and surpassed pre-COVID levels, while Africa, Europe and the United States are "showing healthy signs of recovery."
In total, this year the Maldives intend to welcome 1.5 million tourists. The world's largest "coral" state is preparing to celebrate the golden year of tourism - the 50th anniversary of the founding of the tourism industry in 2022.
