As of November 22, 2023 the Maldives has attracted an annual total of 1,640,826 tourists; which is exactly 259,174 short of hitting the annual target of 1.9 million set by the outgoing government led by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
Since the 2020, this year also saw the most notable changes in the tourist arrivals both in annual term growth as well as the market composition. This is in large part due to the resumption of Chinese traveler market to the Maldives earlier in January 2023.
China, as a tourist market, has been absent from the top 10 source markets to the Maldives since the pandemic hit until 2022.
Here is a look at the top 10 markets of 2022, and the annual total of tourists from each of these markets;
- India: 241,369 | 14.4%
- Russia: 201,957 | 12.1%
- UK: 179,312 | 10.7%
- Germany: 133,424 | 8.0%
- Italy: 97,627 | 5.8%
- USA: 80,691 | 4.8%
- France: 48,340 | 2.9%
- Spain: 42,123 | 2.5%
- South Korea: 35,947 | 2.1%
- Switzerland: 34,608 | 1.1%
The most notable change in this year’s tourist markets is the emergence of the Chinese market, while the South Korean market which was in 9th rank had slipped from the top 10 list.
The top 10 tourist markets of 2023, as of November 22:
- Russia: 188,000 | 11.5%
- India: 177,393 | 10.8%
- China: 172,349 | 10.5%
- UK: 134,223 | 8.2%
- Germany: 119,162 | 7.3%
- Italy: 96,618 | 5.9%
- USA: 64,690 | 3.9%
- France: 43,144 | 2.6%
- Spain: 35,236 | 2.1%
- Switzerland: 32,735 | 2.0%
As of the review date, the operational total bed capacity of the tourism industry in the Maldives is 63,059. This include;
- Resorts: 175 | 42,817 beds
- Hotels: 14 | 1,940 beds
- Guesthouses: 920 | 15,094 beds
- Safari Vessels: 163 | 3,208 beds