Maldives on Sunday welcomed its 1.5 millionth tourist for the year, setting a new arrival record.
The tourist’s arrival marks the achievement of the targeted number of tourists for the country set by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih for the current year.
A special ceremony was held Sunday at the country's main airport to celebrate the occasion and welcome the tourist. Marina Kazakova from Russia was welcomed warmly at Velana International Airport as the 1.5 millionth tourist to arrive at the archipelago this year.
Tourist arrivals to arguably the best tropical destination in the world had floated between 1.1-1.2 million for the past five years.
According to official tourism statistics, the luxury island destination had received 1.4 million tourists by the end of October this year which is a 15.4 percent increase from the corresponding period last year. While 665,545 tourists visited from Europe during this period, this is an increase of 14.9% compared to last year.
Last month, the most number of tourists visited the archipelago from China, with 252,275 tourists. Number of tourists visiting from China increased by 1.8%. India follows behind with 130,617 tourists visiting from the neighbouring nation. This is a staggering increase of 103% compared to the previous year.
The government through its main tourism promotion company, Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC) has launched several fresh initiatives to market the country abroad.
