Tourist arrivals to the Maldives have increased steadily in recent months, according to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment.

The Ministry’s recent tourism update reports an average of 6,015 tourists arriving in the Maldives daily. This is a significant rise compared to May and June of this year, when the daily average stood at around 4,000.

As of 30 July, a total of 1.2 million tourists had visited the country, representing a 9.5 per cent increase over the same period last year. The number of arrivals in July alone surpassed those recorded in both May and June combined, with over 180,000 tourists arriving in that month.

China leads as the top source market for tourist arrivals, followed by Russia and the United Kingdom. According to figures released by the Ministry, 188,317 visitors came from China, while Russia accounted for 152,385 and the UK contributed 120,937 arrivals.

The majority of tourists continued to prefer resort accommodation, with 73.1 per cent choosing to stay in resorts. Guesthouses hosted 22.0 per cent of visitors, while hotels accounted for 2.7 per cent of all tourist stays.

The Government has set an annual target of attracting 2.3 million visitors by the end of this year, according to the Ministry of Tourism.