Russia continues to be the country from which most tourists visit the Maldives so far this year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Tourism.

According to statistics released by the ministry on Sunday, 165,751 tourists arrived in Maldives from Russia as of Thursday. That's 11.5% of the 1.4 million tourists who visited so far this year.

According to the ministry, China, which generated the largest tourist numbers to Maldives before the Covid-19 pandemic, is now the second most in arrivals. 

So far 158,366 tourists arrived from China; that’s 10.9% of the total tourists

India, which had contributed the most tourists in the past two years, is third on this year’s list; Maldives has so far received 157,350 tourists from India

On average, 4,783 tourists arrive daily. Tourists spend an average of 7.6 days in Maldives, according to the ministry.

According to the information released by the ministry:

There are currently 1,269 tourist facilities in operation

That is 62,896 beds

22 countries, 30 airlines operate international flights to Maldives

The government aims to attract 1.9 million tourists this year.

This article was first published in Atoll Times, Maldives