Despite a decline in tourist arrivals this month compared to May of last year, arrivals have not fallen to alarming levels, the tourism ministry said.
From January to April this year, tourist arrivals increased every month compared to last year. But arrivals from 1 May to 24 May decreased by 5.6 percent from the same period last year.
While 94,604 tourists visited as of 24 May, 100,230 tourists visited in the same period last year.
Tourism minister Dr. Abdulla Mausoom said tourist arrivals in May last year increased significantly because the country celebrated the golden jubilee of tourism in 2022.
Despite a decline this month, tourist arrivals this month is 15.5 percent higher compared to May 2019, he noted.
"It was believed that last year would be good because it was the golden year. May 2023 is still better than May 2019. Considering the whole year, there is a 15.6 percent increase [compared to 2022]," Mausoom said.
Before the covid pandemic, 81,889 tourists visited the Maldives in the first 24 days of May. A total of 782,889 tourists have visited so far this year while the number stood at 677,034 in the same period last year.
Some 1.67 million tourists visited the Maldives last year. An estimated 1.8 million tourists are expected to visit this year.
