During 2022 second quarter, tourist bed nights registered a 49% increment, reports Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
According to MMA, this increment came despite the fall in average stay from 9.1 days in Q2-2021 to 7.7 days in Q2-2022. Moreover, bed nights increased by 12% compared to pre-pandemic levels of Q2-2019.
Moreover, Russia and Ukraine markets that accounted for both 12% and 2% arrivals respectively, for the first quarter, fell to 8% and 0% during Q2-2022. This significant drop is due to the Russia-Ukraine war which ignited earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, during the review quarter, resumption of Russia’s flagship carrier Aeroflot – which is the largest airline – and the increase in the frequency of flights to the Maldives, the daily average arrivals from Russia rose to an average of 511 arrivals per day in June 2022 from an average of 284 per day in March 2022.
Despite this, daily average arrivals from Russia still remain below average arrivals of 736 prior to the war, while arrivals from Ukraine remained comparatively low.
Though Russia and Ukraine observed decline in the arrivals for Q2-2022, arrivals from European destinations increased. Tourist arrivals increased by 80% in Q2-2022 compared to the same period in 2021, reaching a quarterly total of 381,691. Moreover, arrivals in quarterly terms increased by 1% compared to Q2-2019.
However, tourist arrivals were down by 12% when compared with Q1-2022.
In terms of market composition, Europe remained as the main source region. The area accounted for 54% of all tourist arrivals. Market share from Asian region rose to 31%, owing mostly to increment in Indian arrivals. The market previously registered only 16% of total arrivals, during Q1-2022.