The government has set a target of attracting two million tourists to the Maldives next year, Tourism Minister Dr. Abdulla Mausoom has said.
Minister Maumoon made the statement while speaking at a seminar at the 55th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank.
The government's target for this year is to attract 1.6 million tourists and attain 13 million bed nights. Based on the tourism statistics, the minister expressed his confidence that the target for this year would be achieved. Dr. Mausoom said the government now aims to bring in two million tourists next year and achieve 14.5 million nights.
The Maldives closed its borders on March 27, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and reopened borders over three months later on July 15. Following the reopening of the border, the government conducted many activities to promote Maldives tourism in different countries around the world in a bid to increase the number of tourists visiting the Maldives.
Minister Mausoom Thursday said that the country's tourism arrival numbers are now at pre-COVID-19 levels due to the hard work of those involved in the tourism sector. He added that the future of Maldives tourism looks bright and said that the government is working to increase tourism revenue.
"The increase in loyal tourists who have fallen in love with the Maldives after the outbreak has also helped in the recovery," he said.
The government has set a target of attracting two million tourists next year as Chinese tourists prepare to travel to the Maldives for the first time since the pandemic. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Maldives saw the most significant number of tourist arrivals from China.
