Maldives has seen a drop of 50,000 tourists from India which was the largest source market in the past two years.
According to Tourism Ministry figures, 146,057 tourists visited from India by September 24 last year. However, the number was at 88,202 by September 24 this year.
This is a decrease of 57,855 tourists.
Number of Indian tourists each year
- 2018 - 90,474 tourists
- 2019 - 166,030 tourists
- 2020 - 62,960 tourists
- 2021 - 291,787 tourists
- 2022 - 241,382 tourists
- 2023 - 208,430 tourists (by December 26)
- 2024 - 88,202 tourists (by September 24)
The number of Indian tourists began declining after three deputy ministers insulted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.
The ministers were suspended, but Indian activists launched a massive campaign to boycott Maldives tourism.
Since then, the government has been working to mend ties with India. The "Welcome India" campaign was launched to attract more tourists.
Despite the slowdown in the Indian market, the total number of tourists from China and Western European countries increased.
