Indian vs Chinese tourists in Maldives: The rise and fall in last 10 years
mocked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Lakshadweep visit. Notably, Indians were only second to Russia in the chart showing tourist arrivals in the Maldives by nationality in January 2023. India was among the largest tourist markets for the Maldives in 2023.
According to the data released by the Maldives' Ministry of Tourism, as many as 20,966 Russian residents visited the island nation, while 17,029 Indian residents visited it in January 2023. This data showed "the arrivals by country of residence". ALSO READ: India-Maldives ties under stress: What trade, tourism data shows However, India has not always topped the chart when it comes to Maldives tourism.
Before 2020, people from China were leading the tourism charts in the Maldives. The increase in arrivals from India started in 2020, as compared to that from China. In 2014, "China remained the number one market, strengthening its hold on the position accounting for more than one-fourth of total arrivals to the country," the Maldives said in its tourism Yearbook 2015.
According to another report by the Maldives government, India remained in the fifth position, "spiralling positive figures for the year 2018". The official report said, "The top 10 markets by the end of 2018 were, China (19.1%), Germany (7.9%), UK (7.7%), Italy (7.1%), India (6.1%), Russia (4.8%), France (3.4%), Japan (2.9%), USA (2.9%), and Australia (2.5%)." ALSO READ: Maldives have gone from a beach resort to a worry spot for India In 2020, China had an 18.31% share among "Top Ten Markets Arrivals" in Maldives, the highest that year. However, India grabbed the third spot with a 7.99% share.
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