The number of Chinese tourists visiting the Maldives so far this year has reached nearly 100,000, with China currently the largest source market for tourism to the country.
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, a total of 90,189 tourists from China have visited the Maldives so far this year. This accounts for 15.2% of the total number of tourist arrivals during the period.
Overall, 601,707 tourists have visited the Maldives so far this year, marking an increase of 6.5% compared with the same period last year.
Tourist arrivals by month are as follows:
January: 227,403 tourists
February: 254,365 tourists
As of 23 March: 119,939 tourists
According to the ministry, 1,292 tourist establishments are currently in operation across the Maldives, with a total bed capacity of 67,484.
The top five source markets for tourist arrivals are:
China: 90,189 tourists
Russia: 72,934 tourists
United Kingdom: 56,593 tourists
Italy: 54,955 tourists
Germany: 38,711 tourists
Most tourists arrived in the Maldives by air, with 595,405 visitors recorded so far this year, while 6,302 tourists arrived by sea.
In terms of accommodation, the majority of tourists stayed at resorts, accounting for 405,798 visitors. Guesthouses hosted 156,223 tourists, while 17,063 stayed in hotels and 12,615 in safari vessels, according to the statistics.