According to data from the country’s tourism ministry, Indian tourists accounted for the largest share of all visitors to the Maldives until December 2023. The Maldives tourism ministry reports that as of December 13, 17,57,939 tourists had visited the island nation, representing a 12.6% increase over the 1.5 million arrivals that were registered in 2022. The figures were released amid the ‘Boycott Maldives’ trend.
Maldives Tourism Min Shows Indians Dominating 2023 Arrival Figures
Kayak through lush greenery
📷📍@sixsenseslaamu#WorldLeadingDestination2023 #VisitMaldives #SunnySideofLife pic.twitter.com/mwbRTnrqs2— Visit Maldives (@visitmaldives) January 7, 2024
India accounted for the greatest number of visitors to the Maldives (2,09,198), with Russia (2,09,146) and China (1,87,118) following closely behind. Roughly 1,55,730 travellers from the UK, 1,35,090 from Germany, 1,18,412 from Italy, 74,575 from the US, 49,199 from France, 40,462 from Spain, and 37,260 from Switzerland travelled to the Maldives.
Aviation data also suggests that for a few years, Indians continued to choose the Maldives as their vacation destination of preference. During the first quarter of 2018, when the Maldives expansion started, 51,000 passengers took direct flights from India to the Maldives. The number of passengers increased to 60,000 over the same period in 2019.
This means that there are around 700 travellers travelling between India and the Maldives every day! Despite COVID-19’s devious tactics, 32,000 passengers travelled each way in the October through December 2020 period. (As per Hindustan Times)
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Narendra Modi’s Lakshadweep Island
And those early morning walks along the pristine beaches were also moments of pure bliss. pic.twitter.com/soQEIHBRKj
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 4, 2024
In the fourth quarter of 2021, a record 1.15 lakh people took direct flights from India to the Maldives, an average of 1250 passengers each day. This decreased in 2022 when travel to all parts of the world became easier for Indians.
But earlier this week, a number of Indian celebrities and social media influencers called for a boycott of the Maldives and its tourist attractions because of anti-India remarks made by certain Maldivians, including one minister, on X (formerly Twitter).
Travel aficionados became interested in Lakshadweep after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the Indian island. This is the reason behind the ongoing spat featuring jabs, trolls, and other offensive language.
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What are your views?
Cover Image Courtesy: Canva
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