Male, Feb 4 (PTI) – The Maldives government has set an ambitious goal of attracting 300,000 Indian tourists in 2025, following a significant dip in arrivals from India in 2024. Once the top source of tourists, Indian visitors fell to the sixth position last year, a decline attributed to strained diplomatic relations between Male and New Delhi.
According to the Ministry of Tourism's data, the Maldives saw a total of 2,046,615 tourist arrivals in 2024, a slight increase from 1,878,543 in 2023. However, while China topped the list of tourist origins, followed by Russia, Indian tourist numbers plummeted until late 2024, when they began to recover gradually.
Abdulla Ghiyas, Chairman of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), shared plans to reverse this trend in a recent interview with local news portal Adhadhu. "We are conducting a large-scale campaign to bring back Indian tourists," Ghiyas said. "For the first time, we will be hiring a brand ambassador to promote the Maldives across Indian mass media." Additionally, he revealed plans to host cricket summer camps in the Maldives, further appealing to Indian visitors.
The MMPRC is also working with airlines, both Indian and Maldivian, to expand routes from key Indian cities. Ghiyas noted that the Maldives is targeting new markets, including Kolkata, Pune, and Chennai, in hopes of boosting arrivals.
Indian tourists had dominated the Maldives' tourism figures from 2020 to 2023, especially in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the relationship between the two nations soured in early 2024 following derogatory remarks about India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by three Maldivian ministers on social media. This backlash led to a boycott of the Maldives by Indian tourists, with travel agencies even blacklisting the island nation.
As a result, the number of Indian tourists dropped from 209,193 in 2023 to just 130,805 in 2024. Although tourist arrivals from India began to recover toward the end of 2024, the improvement was slow, only gaining momentum after the Maldives and India took steps to reset their diplomatic relations. In October, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu visited India, signaling a thaw in ties.
The Maldives now hopes to rebuild its relationship with India and restore Indian tourists' confidence by emphasizing its commitment to bilateral cooperation and increasing promotional efforts in India.
According to the Ministry of Tourism's data, the Maldives saw a total of 2,046,615 tourist arrivals in 2024, a slight increase from 1,878,543 in 2023. However, while China topped the list of tourist origins, followed by Russia, Indian tourist numbers plummeted until late 2024, when they began to recover gradually.
Abdulla Ghiyas, Chairman of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), shared plans to reverse this trend in a recent interview with local news portal Adhadhu. "We are conducting a large-scale campaign to bring back Indian tourists," Ghiyas said. "For the first time, we will be hiring a brand ambassador to promote the Maldives across Indian mass media." Additionally, he revealed plans to host cricket summer camps in the Maldives, further appealing to Indian visitors.
The MMPRC is also working with airlines, both Indian and Maldivian, to expand routes from key Indian cities. Ghiyas noted that the Maldives is targeting new markets, including Kolkata, Pune, and Chennai, in hopes of boosting arrivals.
Indian tourists had dominated the Maldives' tourism figures from 2020 to 2023, especially in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the relationship between the two nations soured in early 2024 following derogatory remarks about India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by three Maldivian ministers on social media. This backlash led to a boycott of the Maldives by Indian tourists, with travel agencies even blacklisting the island nation.
As a result, the number of Indian tourists dropped from 209,193 in 2023 to just 130,805 in 2024. Although tourist arrivals from India began to recover toward the end of 2024, the improvement was slow, only gaining momentum after the Maldives and India took steps to reset their diplomatic relations. In October, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu visited India, signaling a thaw in ties.
The Maldives now hopes to rebuild its relationship with India and restore Indian tourists' confidence by emphasizing its commitment to bilateral cooperation and increasing promotional efforts in India.
