The Maldives has welcomed the 1 millionth tourist for the year 2023. The achievement of reaching 1 million tourist arrivals this year happened a month earlier compared to the previous year, aligning with H.E President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's goal of having 1.8 million tourists by the end of 2023.

The 1 millionth tourist for this year is Mr. Anton Pavlov, a British national who arrived on British Airways flight BA061 this morning with his family. The family was accompanied by Senior Officials from the Ministry of Tourism (MOT), Maldives Marketing & PR Corporation (MMPRC), Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), and Maldives Immigration. Upon their arrival, they were greeted with a cultural performance and received special gift packs from MOT, MMPRC, MACL, Maldives Immigration, and the tourism industry to commemorate the occasion. MMPRC's gift pack included locally-sourced products essential for a holiday in the Maldives.

The marketing efforts in the first two quarters of this year have played a crucial role in promoting the destination and maintaining its presence across various key markets through a comprehensive 360-degree marketing approach. One of the significant events driving the increase in arrival numbers is the resumption of direct flights between the Maldives and China, which has been one of the top-performing markets since January 2023. After a three-year break, China resumed direct flights to the Maldives on January 18, 2023, resulting in a positive impact on arrival numbers. The Chinese market, which consistently ranked high in arrivals before the Covid-19 pandemic, has already secured the fourth spot as a source market for the Maldives in 2023, showing a staggering growth of 1,659.5% compared to the same period last year.

Among the notable marketing events organized by MMPRC this year, the Visit Maldives Storytellers' Conference 2023, held from May 30 to June 2, 2023, is expected to further increase arrivals in the upcoming months. This event, conducted during the low season to boost arrivals, received extensive coverage on Visit Maldives social media platforms alone, reaching over 89,517,434 people globally. The coverage showcased various regions of the Maldives, leading to an anticipation of further increased arrivals and bookings distributed throughout the country.

MMPRC has strategically planned marketing activities to attract more visitors and achieve the President's target of 1.8 million tourists this year. The destination marketing efforts include collaborations with global stakeholders such as airlines, tour operators, and travel agencies to boost arrival figures. Most of the top source markets have already surpassed pre-pandemic arrival numbers. The current top five markets for the Maldives in 2023 are Russia, India, UK, China, and Germany. India, which consistently held the top spot for arrivals, has exceeded pre-pandemic numbers and currently ranks second with 117,131 visitors. Russia holds the first spot with 117,198 visitors as of July 15, 2023. Additionally, there have been 84,763 travelers from the UK, 77,202 travelers from China, and 69,074 travelers from Germany who have visited the Maldives this year. Both the UK and German markets have surpassed pre-pandemic arrival figures by 2022. This year also marks the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic that China, one of the traditionally strongest markets, has re-entered the top five source markets for the Maldives.