Maldives welcomes millionth tourist of 2023

Maldives on Sunday welcomed the one millionth tourist of the year.

Britain’s Anton Pavlov became the one millionth tourist of the year when he arrived with his wife and son on a British Airways flight Sunday morning. The family will spend a two-week-long vacation at Vakkaru Maldives resort in Baa atoll.

“I have been wanting to come here for a long time and when I last came here, I got an unexpected surprise,” Anton report reporters at Velana International Airport (VIA).

“I’m very happy. Thank you for the warm welcome extended by the Maldives. This is my first visit to the country. I want to come back here. I want to come here next year. I want to be the two millionth tourist to arrive in the Maldives next year.”

As per the latest figures released by the tourism ministry:

• On an average, 5,102 tourists arrive in the Maldives every day
• Tourists spend an average of 7.7 days in Maldives
• 38 international airlines operate scheduled flights to Maldives

The top five source markets are:

1. India – 115,837 tourists
2. Russia – 115,334 tourists
3. UK – 83,942 tourists
4. China – 74,348 tourists
5. Germany – 68,484 tourists

According to the ministry, there are 1,251 tourist facilities with 60,942 beds in operation.

The government has set a target of attracting 1.9 million tourists this year. Considering the number of tourists arriving in the Maldives on a daily basis and the expected increase in November and December due to the peak tourism season at the end of the year, the target will likely be achieved.