Maldives tourist arrivals see 8% drop in Aug
The growing global economic recession is the main reason for the decline in Maldivian tourism
By
Azuhaar Abdul Azeez
Tourist arrivals have decreased 8.2% in Maldives compared to August 2021 and 2022.
Statistics published by the tourism ministry show:
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131,863 tourists arrived in Maldives in August
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143,599 tourists arrived in August 2021
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The difference in comparison to last year amounts to an 8.2% decrease
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Compared to pre-pandemic figures, this is a 5.4% decrease
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that the global economy is entering 2022 in a weaker position than previously expected, and this growing global economic recession is the main reason for the decline in Maldivian tourism, according to experts that spoke to Dhauru on Saturday.
In addition, tourism industry experts also remarked that August falls to the low tourist season.
Statistics also show that a comparison of July and August 2022 depicts a daily decrease in the number of tourist arrivals:
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Daily average arrivals in August were 4,254
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Daily average arrivals in July were 4,308
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The average days tourists stay in Maldives remain at 8.3
India is still at the top of the tourist arrival market, totalling 153,204 arrivals to date, a 14.2% of total arrivals. The other arrivals are dominated by Russia (123,308 tourists), United Kingdom (122,871 tourists) and Germany (85,696 tourists).
January to August: 1.08 million tourist arrivals
The tourist arrival numbers in Maldives for the first eight months of this year is a 42.7% increase in comparison with figures from 2021. The first eight months of 2021 saw 755,966 tourist arrivals.
However, this is a 4.9% decrease compared to pre-pandemic figures. In the first eight months of 2019, a total of 1.1 million tourists arrived in the Maldives.
The Maldivian government has targeted a total of 1.6 million tourist arrivals for the year 2022, and so far 67% of this target has been achieved.
Outlook on tourism in Asia
In comparison to other parts of the world, some countries in Asia are facing major difficulties in the boost of tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic. In many countries, markets and tourist routes are being opened up at a slow pace. For instance, Bhutan is closed down for tourists till September. In Singapore, people have to wear masks even in closed spaces. Masks are compulsory in public places in Vietnam and Hong Kong. In addition to this, everybody in Hong Kong has to be quarantined in hotels on their own expenses.
In a few popular Asian destinations like Maldives, Fiji and Indonesia tourism has been comparatively better. Nevertheless, most places are facing a loss due to travel restrictions continuing to be in place and a lack of tourists from China, which has been a rising global market.
As per the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, the number of tourists visiting Asia-pacific from the months of January to May 2022 was 90% less than 2019. No other part of the world is facing such a loss in the tourism industry. As per the International Air Transport Association (IATA), tourism will not get revived in Asia-pacific to pre-pandemic standards before 2025.
