Maldives has welcomed the one millionth tourist arrival to the country this year.
The one millionth tourist to arrive in the Maldives this year was Daniela Kilnarova from the Czech Republic. She was welcomed at Velana International Airport (VIA) by officials from the Ministry of Tourism, Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) and Maldives Immigration.
Speaking at the event held at VIA to celebrate the arrival of the one-millionth tourist of the year, Minister of State for Tourism Dr. Ahmed Solih said only once before has the Maldives recorded one million tourist arrivals by this time of the year. He said the achievement signifies the hard work and dedication of government agencies and industry stakeholders.
Speaking about the achievement, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director of MMPRC, Thoyyib Mohamed commended all involved in realising this achievement despite numerous challenges faced due to global issues. Thoyyib said it is a remarkable achievement to be able to welcome 1 million tourists to the country despite the numerous hurdles and obstacles faced in recent years. He added this is a combined effort of government authorities, policymakers, tourism sector employees, and stakeholders who are working hard, day and night, to get here. He also reiterated the importance of strengthening these efforts even further, with renewed dedication to defend the Maldives’ position as the World’s Leading Destination and achieve its targets.
Earlier this year, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced that the nation aims to welcome 1.6 million tourist visitors in 2022. Arrivals for this year, as of July 31, sees India as the top source market to the Maldives with 136,828 visitors, followed closely by the UK with 109,926 visitors.
