Maldives hits half‑million tourists
The Maldives surpassed 500,000 tourist arrivals by early March, with big flows from Russia, Italy, Germany, China and the UK—meanwhile Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma posted family vacation snaps from the islands ahead of IPL 2026 [] [].
The tourism ministry’s daily report shows exactly 502,252 stopover arrivals in the Maldives as of March 4, 2026. tourism.gov.mv That figure represented an 8.8% increase on the 461,839 arrivals recorded at the same point in 2025, according to the ministry’s year‑to‑date comparison. english.news.cn The ministry’s nationality breakdown lists China as the top source market with 79,681 visitors, followed by Russia (57,466), Italy (48,417), the UK (46,005) and Germany (31,344). english.news.cn Those early‑2026 flows build on a banner 2025 when the Maldives received 2,246,516 international visitors and projected travel receipts exceeding US$5.4 billion. traveltrademaldives.com Officials and state media noted arrivals climbed “despite flight disruptions” this season, a line repeated in multiple agency reports as evidence of the market’s resilience. english.news.cn Indian captain Rohit Sharma shared family photos and a short video from his Maldives holiday on March 13–14 while preparing for IPL 2026, with sports outlets flagging the break ahead of the tournament’s March 28 start. rediff.com
