More than 120,000 tourists have visited the Maldives so far this year, according to the latest daily tourism statistics.

Data released by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment shows that 120,680 tourists arrived in the Maldives as of 17 January, representing a 10.2 per cent increase compared to the 109,501 arrivals recorded during the same period last year.

The highest number of tourist arrivals recorded on a single day this month was on 11 January, when 9,596 visitors entered the country. The lowest daily arrival figure was recorded on 1 January, with 5,929 tourists. Overall, the Maldives is currently receiving an average of 7,099 tourists per day.

While China was the Maldives’ largest source market at the end of last year, Russia emerged as the top source market during the first 17 days of this year, with 19,171 arrivals. Italy followed with 13,601 tourists, while the United Kingdom recorded 10,365 arrivals during the same period.

In terms of entry points, the statistics show the highest number of tourist arrivals were recorded at Maafaru International Airport and Gan International Airport, excluding Velana International Airport. Maafaru recorded 480 tourist arrivals, while Gan recorded 387 arrivals.

Tourism arrivals have continued to show strong growth following a record-breaking performance last year, when 2.25 million tourists visited the Maldives, marking the highest annual arrival figure in the country’s history.