Official data on the tourist flow to the Maldives for June and the first half of 2024 have become known. The total number of visits to the islands increased by 9.2%. The Russian tourist flow in the first half of the year differs little in terms of indicators from 2023, our compatriots are second after the Chinese in terms of the number of trips. Rapidly growing China is in the lead, but the Indian tourist flow to the islands has almost halved.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Tourism of the Maldives, 1,015,529 foreign visits were made to the Maldives in the first half of the year (from January 1 to June 30) 2024. This is 9.2% more than in the same period of 2023.
CHINA HAS ALMOST DOUBLED, RUSSIA IS STILL IN SECOND PLACE
The first place in the ranking of key entry markets of the Maldives in the first half of 2024 is occupied by an almost doubled increase in its tourist flow to the islands China: 120,726 trips (+90.35% year-on-year). Compared to the first half of 2023, China has risen from the third to the first position in the TOP 10 markets.
The second place (as in 2023) belongs to Russia with 105,068 visits. This is only 3.18% less than in the first half of 2023, and mainly due to subsidence in January and February of this year (see table 1).
The indicators of March 2024 are almost 8% better than last year, April and May have almost identical indicators with the same months of last year, as well as June (but it showed a slight increase year-on-year, by 1.8%).
Table 1. Russian tourist flow to the Maldives, I half-years 2023 and 2024
|
Maldives, tourist flow from Russia |
January |
February |
March |
April |
May |
June |
Total first half of the year |
|
Number of trips by month, 2024 |
20 113 |
19 733 |
21 906 |
16,292 |
12,159 |
14,865 |
105 068 |
|
Number of trips by month, 2023 |
23,180 |
21,567 |
20,313 |
16,979 |
12,174 |
14,608 |
108,821 |
|
Change in 2024 relative to 2023 |
-13.23% |
-8.48% |
+7.84% |
-4% |
-0.10% |
+1.76% |
-3.18% |
and Data: Maldives Immigration Service, Maldives Ministry of Tourism
Since spring, the demand for tours to the Maldives in Russia has remained at last year’s level. At the end of the year, tour operators are still expecting sales figures similar to last year’s. According to the surveyed key market participants, demand for the Maldives is stable, there are no prerequisites for its sharp decline or growth yet.
According to the estimates of tour operators FUN&SUN, TEZ TOUR, Anex, ITM Group and Let’s Fly (part of the Group of Companies “Fly.
A number of market participants (PAC Group, Space Travel, Russian Express), however, notice an increase in summer bookings – it is possible that a small increase in the Russian tourist flow in June is the beginning of a longer “plus” trend.
The islands have their own “established” audience from the premium segment, which provides a fairly even and stable demand. The drop in the volume of summer arrivals compared to winter is a natural and traditional phenomenon, as in previous years, due to seasonality.
Only prices can have an impact on demand (the raising of the price tag by Maldivian hoteliers in the winter of 2023-2024 led to a slight decrease in demand, and summer discounts led to its observed activation).
According to the summary data of leading tour operators, in the summer season of 2024, the Maldives is confidently among the TOP 10 best-selling foreign destinations, taking 5th-6th place.
Russian tourist flow to the Maldives, January-June, visualization 2023 and 2024.
EUROPE IS INCREASING TOURIST FLOW TO THE MALDIVES, INDIA IS FALLING DUE TO POLITICS
The third position in terms of tourist flow to the Maldives is Great Britain (93,291 visits, +16.1%), the fourth is Italy (79,909 visits, +24.4%), the fifth is from Germany (78,135 visits, +18%).
India, which was number 1 in terms of tourist flow to the Maldives in the first half of last year, in the same period of 2024, has only the 6th position (63,463 visits, -45.5%, falling almost twice). The main reason is the conflict between the Maldives and India that broke out in 2024, which had a rather strange reason, but a serious geopolitical background.
Despite the almost twofold drop in arrivals from India, the Maldives, as we can see, continues to increase the total foreign tourist flow, primarily due to the extremely rapid growth of the Chinese market, which, again, as before the pandemic, quickly became the undisputed leader.
Significant (but not as serious as China’s) growth this year is also demonstrated by bookings of Maldivian resorts in European countries.
