Maldives faced severe backlash and a boycott campaign after multiple Maldivian officials, including its ministers, used derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his visit to Lakshadweep.
The ongoing tension between New Delhi and Maldives has shaved off a big chunk of Indian tourists visiting the island nation.
Only 34,847 Indian tourists visited Maldives in the first quarter of this year, down from 56,208 in the same period last year, a 38 per cent decrease.
A total of 12,792 Indians (7.1 per cent of the total population) visited the island nation in January 2024, numbers put out by Maldives authorities revealed.
In February, a total of 11,522 Indian tourists visited the island, compared to a total of 19,497 the same month last year.
In March this year, only 8,322 Indians visited the nation, as compared to a total of 18,099 during the same month in 2023.
Maldives faced severe backlash and a boycott campaign after multiple Maldivian officials, including its ministers, used derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his visit to Lakshadweep.
The Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) recently met Munu Mahawar, the Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives “to explore collaborative efforts in tourism promotion”.
The association expressed its intention to collaborate closely with the Indian High Commission to bolster tourism initiatives. “Plans are underway to launch a comprehensive roadshow across key cities in India and to facilitate influencer and media familiarisation trips to the Maldives in the forthcoming months,” it said.
In the last three years, over 2 lakh Indians visited Maldives annually – the highest from any country post-Covid. Over 17 lakh tourists visited Maldives in 2023, of which the maximum were Indians (2,09,198) followed by Russians (2,09,146) and Chinese (1,87,118). The number of Indian visitors to Maldives was more than 2.4 lakh in 2022 and over 2.11 lakh in 2021.
Maldives’ tour association in a statement said that “India remains a vital market” for Maldivian tourism and it looks forward to partnering with prominent travel associations and industry stakeholders across India to further promote the island nation as a premier travel destination.
