The Maldives has a target of attracting 1.9 million annual tourists in 2023, which initially was at 1.8 million.
Earlier, Maldives Ministry of Tourism revised the annual arrival target to increase it by an additional 100,000 from the initial projection on the back of Chinese tourist arrival resumption.
While tourist arrival to the Maldives observed strong momentum around the first half of 2023, the same cannot be said anymore. In fact, tourist arrival momentum appears to be traversing through muddy waters as of now as the annual growth figure continues to slip gradually.
The current annual growth in tourist arrivals is at 14.3%. Approximately a week back, the annual growth was at 13.9%. This is indicative that the difference in growth, while remaining below 20% at an overall level is still progressing at a relatively slower pace.
The current arrival total is at 1,361,042 as of September 30, which means that the Maldives is still required to attract 538,958 tourists within the last quarter of 2023 to reach the target.
With three months remaining, it is now speculative whether Maldives will achieve its annual arrival target in 2023.
However, based on historical data, it is noteworthy that the island nation had achieved its most recent annual arrival targets in a consistent manner.