Russians biggest tourist group on luxury islands

The Maldives has received more than 180,000 visitors from the country since the start of the year

The largest number of visitors to the Maldives this year came from Russia, local news outlet Raajje reported this week, citing data from the Ministry of Tourism.

According to the report, more than 180,000 Russians have visited the tropical islands since the beginning of the year, making up roughly 11.5% of the total foreign tourist flow.

Second place was occupied by India, which accounted for just over 168,000 visitors or 10.8% of the total. China closed off the top three with 166,430 arrivals. The islands were also popular with people from the UK, the US, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Switzerland.

According to Tourist Ministry statistics, the Maldives received a total of 1.56 million visitors from abroad in the first ten months of 2023, a 12.8% increase from the same period last year. It is expected that 1.9 million tourists will visit the islands by the end of the year. On average, some 5,000 come to the country every day. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has said the Maldives plans to boost the tourist flow to 3.5 million annually by 2028.

The Maldives is famous for its white sandy beaches, turquoise waters and unique underwater marine life. According to IPK International’s World Travel Monitor on global outbound travel trends, the country was the most popular travel destination in 2022.

READ MORE: Top country for tourism to Russia revealed – RBK

Russians do not require any additional documents to travel to the Maldives beyond an international passport, and can stay in the country visa-free for 90 days.

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