Almost 200 thousand Russian tourists visited the Maldives since the beginning of the year

Almost 200 thousand Russian tourists arrived in the Maldives from January to early November. Russia is the second in terms of tourist flow, the archipelago's tourism office reported.

“From January 1 to November 25, more than a million foreign tourists made holidays in the Maldives, 194,5 thousand Russian are among them. Russia is on the second line in terms of tourist flow with a market share of 18,4%. India is in the first place, from which 238,3 thousand tourists arrived (market share is 22,5%). Germany is on the third line with 74,4 thousand tourists,” the message says.

The TOP-10 in terms of tourist flow to the Maldives also includes the United States, Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Ukraine, France and Kazakhstan.

The flow of tourists from Russia to the Maldives in 2021 more than tripled - from 63,3 to 194,5 thousand and 2,3 times compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, when it amounted to 83 thousand. The total number of foreign tourists increased by 144,5% compared to 2020. The fastest growing markets, in addition to the Russian one, included Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

The Maldives was one of the first opened to foreign tourists - in July 2020. For a tour, Russian tourists need a PCR test for coronavirus, taken no earlier than 96 hours before the flight. 24 hours before the flight, tourist must fill out the electronic health declaration on the immigration.gov.mv web site. After that, the traveler receives a QR code, which must be printed or saved to the phone.