British traveller marks Maldives’ two millionth tourist arrival in 2025

The Maldives welcomed its two millionth tourist of the year on Thursday.

The milestone visitor, British national Bethany Sarah Kerswell, arrived at 11:15am on Virgin Atlantic flight VS384 from London Heathrow, accompanied by her husband. The couple will spend their holiday at OUTRIGGER Maldives Maafushivaru Resort in South Ari Atoll.

They were received at Velana International Airport with a Boduberu performance, in a ceremony organised by Visit Maldives Corporation (VMC), the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, Maldives Immigration, Maldives Customs Service, and Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL). Commemorative gifts were presented to the couple as part of the welcome, in line with the Maldives’ tradition of marking key tourism milestones.

Kerswell and her husband are visiting the Maldives for their honeymoon, marking their first trip to the country.

The government aims to reach 2.3 million tourist arrivals this year.

According to the Tourism Ministry, more than 6,000 tourists arrive in the Maldives on average each day.

The top five source markets so far this year are:

1. China – 303,368 arrivals
2. Russia – 250,478 arrivals
3. United Kingdom – 177,957 arrivals
4. Germany – 150,275 arrivals
5. Italy – 129,784 arrivals