Maldives recorded 64,613 tourist arrivals in May 2021, bringing the total number of tourist arrivals during the first 5 months of 2021 to 454,383. According to the statistics from the Maldives’ Ministry of Tourism, tourists spent an average of 9.1 days in the Maldives during the month.
The daily average of tourist arrivals has significantly decreased in May 2021 compared to other months of 2021. This is due to the temporary suspension of tourist vias for travellers from South Asian countries to the Maldives. In addition to that, several countries issued travel warnings for the Maldives over COVID-19 fears.
However, stakeholders and industry experts remain fully confident the Maldives is a safe destination for travellers. With the island nation’s unique geographical advantage the one-island-one-resort concept, travellers can vacation in the tropical holiday destination with natural social distancing.
While the Maldives recorded 64,613 arrivals in May 2021, the total number of tourist arrivals stand at 454,383 for the first 5 months of the year. Compared to the same period of 2020, this is an increase of 18.7%. But, in comparison to the pre-pandemic figures of 2019, arrivals have decreased by 39.3% during the first 5 months.
Also read: 65% of Employees in the Tourism Industry Received the 2nd Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine
3,009 tourists arrived every day on average in the first 5 months of this year. Furthermore, by the end of May 2021, Russia was the Maldives’ leading tourist source market with a market share of 23.3%. The Russian Federation highly contributed to the Maldives’ road to recovery.
Followed by Russia, India ranked in at 2nd place with a market share of 19.7%. For most of the year, neighbouring India was the biggest contributor in terms of tourist arrivals. Other top markets include Germany, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the United States, United Kingdom, Romania, France and the Czech Republic.
The Maldives aims to welcome 1.5 million tourists in 2021. With arrivals exceeding 450,000, over 30% of this goal has been achieved.
