- Tourist arrivals grew 2.8% year-on-year to 150,465 during the first 22 days of August, marking the first improvement since May.
- Despite the August rebound, total arrivals for the year reached 1,405,082, down 3.8% from the same period in 2025.
- China led all markets with 256,983 arrivals (18.6%), followed by Russia with 202,496 (14.7%), together making up one-third of the total.
Tourist arrivals to the Maldives returned to year-on-year growth during the first 22 days of August, offering an early improvement after declines were recorded in both June and July.
The country welcomed 150,465 tourists between 1 and 22 August, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation. This was 4,106 more than the 146,359 tourists recorded during the corresponding period of 2025, representing growth of 2.8 percent.
Arrivals were also 9.5 percent higher than the 137,352 tourists received during the same period of August 2024.
An average of 6,839 tourists arrived each day during the period. The highest daily figure was recorded on 8 August, when arrivals reached 7,879, followed by 7,845 arrivals on 15 August. The lowest daily total was 5,916 on 21 August.
Daily arrivals exceeded 7,000 on 10 of the 22 days covered by the update, indicating relatively consistent demand during the first three weeks of the month.
The August improvement follows an uneven performance across the year. Arrivals increased by 5 percent in January and 17.7 percent in February before falling by 19.8 percent in March and 24.4 percent in April.
Growth briefly returned in May at 1.7 percent, followed by declines of 12 percent in June and 1.9 percent in July. The 2.8 percent increase recorded during August therefore marks the first year-on-year improvement since May.
However, the stronger August performance has not yet offset the shortfall accumulated earlier in the year. Total visitor arrivals reached 1,405,082 as of 22 August, down 3.8 percent from 1,460,747 during the corresponding period of 2025.
Tourist arrivals alone stood at 1,378,251, compared with 1,441,227 a year earlier, a difference of nearly 63,000 tourists. Business arrivals and cruise passenger figures for August will be added at the end of the month.
China remained the largest tourism market with 256,983 arrivals, accounting for 18.6 percent of the total. Russia followed with 202,496 arrivals and a 14.7 percent share, meaning the two markets together contributed one-third of tourist arrivals.
The United Kingdom, Italy and Germany completed the five largest markets. Resorts accommodated 73.4 percent of tourists recorded during the year, while guesthouses accounted for 22.2 percent.
The Maldives had 68,494 operational tourist beds as of 22 August, including 45,115 at resorts and marinas and 17,244 at guesthouses.
