Thursday, December 5, 2019
On November 24, the Maldives welcomed in its 1.5 millionth tourist at Velana International Airport.
This new milestone in tourism came 38 days ahead of estimations according to the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC).
The arrival of Russian national Marina Kazakova marked the 1.5 million figure, meaning that the Maldives’ international tourist visitation has already surpassed the 2018 figure of 1.48 million.
Kazakova, along with her husband, were greeted with bodu beru performers, as well as a welcome from the minister of tourism, Ali Waheed and other industry officials. The couple were also given six free nights at Mirihi Island Resort and free return flights.
The 2019 figures noted that the Maldives is still one of the U.K.’s top holiday spots, bringing in 102,286 visitors from January to October. This represented a 9.6% year-on-year increase in U.K. arrivals and gives the UK a 7.3% market share of the Maldives’ tourism sector.
A total of 130 promotional activities were managed by MMPRC during 2019, including attendance at international trade fairs and the organisation of international trade roadshows, media FAM trips and joint marketing campaigns.
The Maldives Tourism Promotion Bureau is hopeful that the total visitor arrival figure will increase to 2.5 million tourists per year by the end of 2023.
This aspiration comes as the nation announced its tourism strategy for 2020, including a focus on promoting its culture, as well as tapping into the MICE business industry, and sports tourism.
