China surpasses India as the Maldives' largest tourist destination during a political spat

China surpasses India as the Maldives' largest tourist destination during a political spat

President Muizu unveiled a ground-breaking strategy to grow the tourist industry in his first address as president on Monday. The plan calls for building up underutilized resorts, adding 2,800 more beds, and opening 20 new resorts this year.

China said on January 31 that it has inked extensive agreements with 23 nations, including the Maldives, for reciprocal visa cooperation.

In the midst of a diplomatic spat between the Maldives and India, official data published here on Monday indicates that Chinese visitors have surpassed Indian tourists visiting the island country. China ranked first as of February 4 with 23,972 visitors (11.2 percent market share in 2024), according to official statistics from the Maldives Ministry of Tourism; in 2023, it was ranked third.

India, which came in first position in 2023, is now in fifth place, with 16,536 visitors (7.7% of the total market share) coming to the island country as of Sunday. This might be the outcome of a whole reaction against the Maldives when Prime Minister Narendra Modi uploaded images and videos from his visit to the beautiful Lakshadweep islands on social media, drawing criticism from three Maldivian politicians. had completed. Early January, on the west coast of India.

Hundreds of social media users, including celebrities, protested shortly after the anti-Modi statements went viral by urging people to avoid traveling to the Maldives and instead consider local travel options. Following the diplomatic dispute, a number of social media users and even some travel agencies stated that Indians were canceling their planned visits to the Maldives. Prominently regarded as a pro-China statesman, Muizzu took office as president of the Maldives on November 17 and promptly asked India to remove 88 soldiers from his nation by March 15. He claimed to have had a "strong mandate" from the Maldivians. "To ask New Delhi for this."

September of last year saw the holding of presidential elections.The 45-year-old Muizzu had triumphed against Ibrahim Mohammad Solih, the current contender from India. President Muizu met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang during his January visit to Beijing to discuss strategies for boosting tourism from China to the nation that depends heavily on it, including expanding the number of direct flights between the two. Increase is also mentioned. China said on January 31 that it has inked extensive agreements with 23 nations, including the Maldives, for reciprocal visa cooperation.

Over 17 lakh visitors visited the island country of Maldives in 2023, with over 2,09,198 of them being Indian. Russians (2,09,146) and Chinese (1,87,118) followed. These figures are based on statistics from the Maldives Tourism Ministry. Prior to the COVID-19 epidemic that struck that nation in 2019, China was the leading destination for international travelers. Over 2.4 lakh Indian tourists visited the Maldives in 2022, compared to over 2.11 lakh tourists there in 2021.

Approximately 63,000 Indians traveled to the Maldives during the epidemic, making it one of the few nations that allowed foreign visitors. Over 2.4 lakh Indian tourists visited the Maldives in 2022, compared to over 2.11 lakh tourists there in 2021. India has consistently made a major contribution to the tourist sector, something that even the Maldives Association of tourist sector (MATI) recognized at the time. of the Maldives.

Following the reopening of our borders, a donor who has tremendously aided our recovery efforts during COVID-19, MATI had said in a statement that India has been among the top markets for Maldives since then. One is produced. Three clergymen spoke disparaging things. As of February 4, 2024, Russia maintained its 2023 position as the country with 21,898 visitors (10.2% market share) in second place.

Italy, which came in sixth in 2023, rose to third place in 2024 with 21,321 visitors (9.9 percent market share), while the UK stayed in fourth place with 18,078 tourists (8.4 percent market share), according to official statistics. has shown. Meanwhile, President Muizu unveiled a ground-breaking strategy to grow the tourist industry in his first address as president on Monday. This plan calls for the opening of 20 new resorts this year, the addition of 2,800 beds, and the completion of the renovation of underutilized resorts.

According to a statement from his office, the President discussed further the Administration's goals to develop tourism in the atolls and the Government's efforts to do so. He also outlined plans to start a "Assiri Tourism" project for Addu City, which will include a seaplane hub. According to Muizu, the future of the nation's tourist industry "appears promising."

The future does definitely seem bright. The Maldives tourism industry, which is the foundation of our production, is expected to hit a big milestone this year when it welcomes 2 million visitors for the first time. Forecasts suggest that this expansion He said that the trajectory would persist, with a medium-term average annual increase of 10.3 percent, propelled by the construction of Velana International Airport and the launch of additional airline routes.