The number of Russian tourists that visited the Maldives since border reopening is nearing 50,000.
While the Maldives closed its borders to tourists earlier in March as a precautionary measure against COVID-19, it reopened its doors to tourists in July. Since then, 110,506 tourists have visited the country, with the tally for the entire year reaching 492,903.
Russia is one of the biggest markets for Maldivian tourism. According to statistics released by the Tourism Ministry, 46,065 Russian tourists have visited the Maldives since the archipelago reopened its borders in July until December 13. This is equivalent to ten percent of total arrivals in 2020, and 20.7 percent of tourism arrivals post border reopening. The increase in the number of Russian tourists is mainly due to the increasing number of airlines operating to the Maldives from the Russian region.
19 airlines are currently operating to the Maldives. The country is registering over 4,000 daily arrivals.
