In the autumn-winter season, Aeroflot and foreign airlines will continue to carry Russians to the Maldives. There will be no charters: demand tends to decline.
Thus, according to official statistics, 12 735 Russians came to the Maldives in September. This is 37% less than in September 2022, when 20 341 visits by Russians were registered in this island state. The trend towards a reduction of the Russian tourist flow to the Maldives began in the summer. In September, Russia was already the third in the TOP 5 of source markets of the Maldives - after China and India.
Market experts say that the declining demand is influenced by both the high dollar exchange rate and increased contract prices for Maldivian hotels.
The average price for a tour to the Maldives in October is $ 4 660 for two persons, the average duration of the tour is 6 - 8 nights. In the winter season it is traditionally higher.
Due to a complex of these reasons, in the winter season 2023-24 tour operators do not operate their own charters to the Maldives, but rely on regular transportation and blocks of seats on flights from a number of carriers.
The majority of Anex's current Maldivian sales – 90,6% - are for the arrivals 2023. In the winter season, New Year's tours are still in the lead, their volume is about 7%, said Alena Khitrova, Deputy Director of the Anex Communications Department.
Tours to the Maldives are chosen mainly by residents of the 5 large regions of the Russian Federation. According to the data from Anex for the autumn-winter season, tourists from Moscow and the Central Federal District most often fly to the Maldives - 66%. St. Petersburg's share is 15,6%. The contribution of Ekaterinburg to the total volume of Maldivian Anex sales is 4,5%, and Kazan’s is 3,6%. The remaining 10,3% is shared by all other Russian cities.
Ekaterinburg, which accounts for a less significant share of overall sales, meanwhile shows the best results in terms of load capacity for flydubai flights, on which blocks of seats have been taken by Anex. There are six cities in total where Anex offers flydubai block transportation tours to residents - Ekaterinburg, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Samara, St. Petersburg and Ufa.
