More than 1.3 million tourists have visited the Maldives so far this year, according to official figures.

The Tourism Ministry revealed that 1,304,235 tourists visited Maldives as of Monday. The number stood at 1.2 million during the same period last year.

The largest number of visitors came from China followed by Russia and the UK.

India, which was the biggest source market for the past three years, ranks sixth. A total of 77,326 Indian tourists have visited by August. In 2023, 209,198 Indian tourists visited the Maldives.

According to the figures, tourists spend an average of 7.7 days in the Maldives. There are currently 62,740 beds available for tourism purposes.

The number of Indian tourists has fallen after three deputy ministers insulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The issue escalated and a social media campaign was launched against Maldives tourism.

The three deputy ministers have been on suspension with pay since the incident occurred earlier this year.