Tourist arrivals to the Maldives reached 192,058 in August 2025, an increase of 9 percent compared with August 2024 when the country welcomed 176,175 visitors. August also outperformed July’s 186,738, marking a second consecutive monthly gain after the mid-year lull in May and June.
By the end of August, cumulative arrivals for 2025 stood at 1,486,926, up 9.4 percent compared with the same period of 2024. August’s average daily arrivals were 6,195, slightly above the year-to-date daily average of 6,119, indicating a stable flow of visitors through the late summer period.
Two contrasts frame the month’s performance. First, August 2025 was 24 percent higher than August 2023, underscoring the recovery over a two-year horizon. Second, while July typically records stronger summer traffic than August in many destinations, the Maldives saw a modest sequential lift, suggesting resilient demand heading into the final third of the year.
The market composition year-to-date continued to be led by China with 235,245 visitors, representing 15.8 percent of total arrivals. Russia followed with 177,581 or 11.9 percent, and the United Kingdom ranked third with 134,114 or 9.0 percent. Italy and Germany rounded out the top five with 106,230 and 102,496 respectively. India accounted for 85,045, while the United States contributed 43,560. France, Spain and Australia completed the top ten with 40,979, 34,132 and 27,122.
Accommodation patterns remained broadly consistent with previous months. Resorts captured 73.4 percent of arrivals year-to-date, ahead of their 67 percent share of operational bed capacity. Guesthouses accounted for 21.9 percent of arrivals against a 24 percent capacity share, while hotels and safari vessels made up the remainder. The mix points to firmer utilisation in the resort segment and a steady, though slightly softer, pull for community-based guesthouse stays.
Capacity has continued to expand. As of 31 August there were 1,259 licensed tourist facilities with a total of 66,479 beds, of which 64,394 were operating. This supply backdrop helps contextualise August’s daily throughput near 6,200 arrivals, supporting a stable distribution of visitors across resorts and inhabited-island guesthouses.
Looking ahead, matching 2024’s full-year total of 2,046,615 visitors would require 559,689 additional arrivals in the final four months of the year. That equates to an average of roughly 140,000 per month from September to December. With year-to-date growth at 9.4 percent and August trending above the 2025 daily average, the Maldives remains on a credible path to challenge last year’s record, provided autumn and early winter demand holds firm.
