E-Paper
Indians dominated Maldives' tourist arrival figures in 2023, data shows
The largest number of tourists who visited the Maldives after India were from Russia and China.
Indian tourists were the highest among visitors to the Maldives till December 2023, data from the country's tourism ministry showed. According to the Maldives tourism ministry, a total of 17, 57,939 tourists arrived in the island nation till December 13, an increase of 12.6 per cent compared to the 1.5 million arrivals recorded in 2022.
The largest number of tourists who visited the Maldives were from India (2,09,198), followed by Russia (2,09,146) and China (1,87,118).
About 1,55,730, tourists visited Maldives from the United Kingdom, 1,35,090, from Germany, 1,18,412 from Italy, 74,575 from the United States, 49,199 from France, 40,462 from Spain, and 37,260 from Switzerland.
Aviation data has also indicated that Maldives remained a popular choice for Indians as a tourism destination for a few years.
In the October-December quarter of 2018 when the first phase of expansion to Maldives began, 51,000 passengers travelled between India and Maldives on direct flights. These went up to 60,000 passengers in the same quarter in 2019. This translates to nearly 700 passengers a day each way between India and Maldives!
Even as Covid-19 played spoilsport, the October to December quarter of 2020 saw 32,000 passengers each way. Come 2021, the numbers broke all records as India was past the deadly second wave and Maldives had started welcoming tourists with restrictions while most of the world was still out of bounds.
A bumper 1.15 lakh passengers flew to Maldives from India in the fourth quarter of 2021, which averages at 1250 passengers per day, on direct flights. This dropped in 2022 as the world opened up and Indians flew to destinations all across.
However, earlier this week, anti-India comments by some Maldivians, including one minister, on X have prompted several Indian celebrities and social media influencers to call for a boycott of the Maldives and its tourist spots.
The ongoing tussle involving barbs, trolls, etc. traces its origin to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Lakshadweep, which spurred interest in the Indian island among travel enthusiasts.
During his visit, Modi inaugurated several development projects and also explored Lakshadweep's beautiful beaches. Pictures of Modi while snorkelling in the sea went viral on social media and were top trending on X.
