Furthermore, UK visitors represented 7.9 per cent of all visitors to the Maldives in November 2017, with a total of 94,258 UK visitors travelling to the Maldives in the first 11 months of 2017.
With regards to worldwide arrivals to the Maldives, the island nation witnessed a year-on-year growth of 15.2 per cent in November 2017, with 120,506 international tourists visiting the Maldives during
November 2017. The total number of arrivals to the Maldives in 2017 stood at 1,246,502 by the end of November and when compared with the same period in 2016, total tourist arrivals have increased by 6.8 per cent.
To support the increasing demand for tourism in the Maldives, the country will welcome several new tourism developments during 2018, including expansion plans at the recently rebranded Velana International Airport and the opening of the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge in July 2018. There are also expansion plans of the health services in the Maldives, providing world-class medical care to both the community and the tourism industry for 2018, as well as further developments taking place at the new Youth City, providing accommodation and employment for future generations on Hulhumalé, an island adjacent to the capital city.
Speaking at a recent Press conference, His Excellency Mohamed Anil, Attorney General, said: “This is a very exciting time for the Maldives with a number of key infrastructure developments taking place during 2018 and beyond, which will benefit both tourists and the local community. Our tourism industry is continuing to expand and with 10 new hotel resorts opening during the next few years, we look forward to being able to accommodate even more visitors from overseas.”
The UK is one of the Maldives’ most important long-haul markets, representing 7.6 per cent of total visitors.
