Maldives hits 500k tourists
The Maldives surpassed 500,000 tourist arrivals by early March — a new early‑season record driven by visitors from Russia, China, Italy and the UK, reaffirming the islands’ spring beach appeal Travel And Tour World.
The ministry’s daily update recorded exactly 502,252 tourists as of March 4, a year‑on‑year increase of 8.8% over 461,839 arrivals during the same period in 2025. english.news.cn A later ministry snapshot covering January 1–March 9 put total visitors at 526,767, of which 517,509 were tourists, 2,956 were business visitors and 6,302 arrived via cruise. en.mmtv.mv China was the largest single source market at 79,681 arrivals in the March 4 tally. english.news.cn The ministry’s March 9 update showed China rising to 82,768 visitors while Russia and Italy reported 61,411 and 50,419 arrivals respectively in the January–March 9 period. en.mmtv.mv Tourist flow slowed in early March, with 44,999 arrivals in the first nine days of March 2026 versus 59,924 in the same nine‑day window of 2025, a drop officials link to cancelled flights. en.mmtv.mv Authorities said cancellations and regional airline disruptions tied to the Middle East military conflict have hit daily arrivals and that the government is working to restore suspended services and open alternative routes. english.news.cn
