Tourism Minister of the Maldives Moosa Zameer has said that tourist arrivals have increased in comparison with the same period last year.
The Minister said that this year has been full of setbacks for international tourism.
"We faced difficulties this year as well as late last year. Europe suffered bouts of terrorism. The conflicts in the Middle East have also been causing an impact. There were efforts to boycott Maldivian tourism as well, so it was a difficult year for us," the Minister said.
"By early December this year, more tourists have arrived in the Maldives than they had by the same point last year,"
The Tourism Ministry has undertaken major efforts to boost Maldivian tourism throughout the year. Maldives had hosted the world's largest tourism fair, the ITB this year.
Tourism Ministry statistics show that over a million tourists have arrived in the country so far this year. The Tourism Ministry had predicted that 1.2 million tourists will arrive by the end of the year.
