The number of tourists travelling from Australia to the Maldives has increased significantly, with Australia now ranking as the country’s seventh-largest source market for tourist arrivals, according to the latest statistics. At the end of last year, Australia ranked 11th.
According to the latest figures released by the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, 39,487 Australian tourists visited the Maldives so far this year. This represents a 20.2 per cent increase compared with the 32,843 arrivals recorded during the same period last year.
Australians currently account for 2.4 per cent of total tourist arrivals to the Maldives. The rise in arrivals has moved Australia up to seventh place among the country’s leading source markets, from 11th at the end of last year.
Australia has emerged as an increasingly important market for Maldivian tourism. During the first six months of this year, 17,737 Australian tourists visited the Maldives, with arrivals more than doubling over the following months.
Amid the growth in Australian arrivals, national carrier Maldivian launched direct flights to Melbourne on 18 May this year. Following strong demand for the route, the airline has decided to introduce scheduled weekly flights from next year. The services will be operated using Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft from the airline’s fleet.
Beyond Australia, China remains one of the Maldives’ leading source markets, with more than 300,000 Chinese tourists visiting the country. Russia has recorded more than 200,000 arrivals, while the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy have each contributed more than 100,000 tourists. Neighbouring India has also recorded more than 95,000 arrivals.