A total of 161,259 tourists visited the Maldives in March, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Environment.
The Ministry reported that 643,218 tourists have visited the Maldives so far this year, reflecting a 1 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.
Tourist arrivals for the first three months of the year are as follows:
January recorded 227,403 arrivals, followed by 254,556 in February and 161,259 in March.
Arrivals increased in January and February compared with last year. However, March saw a decline in visitor numbers, attributed to the cancellation of a significant number of flights due to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
The top five source markets for tourist arrivals are China with 94,823 visitors, Russia with 79,326, the United Kingdom with 61,162, Italy with 57,289 and Germany with 43,344 tourists.
The majority of tourists, 68.8 per cent, stayed at resorts, while 26.1 per cent chose guesthouses for their holidays.
In terms of mode of arrival, 636,916 tourists arrived by air, while 6,302 visitors entered the country by sea, according to the Ministry of Tourism.