For the first time in history Russia became the leader by the number of tourists in the Maldives

This is evidenced by the data of the Maldives Immigration Service for September 2020. The flow of tourists from Russia in the Maldives increased by 388% against August 2020.

According to statistics, published by the Immigration Service of the Republic of the Maldives, in September 2020 Russia was in the first place by the number of tourists in the islands. It is the first time for the history of Russian tourism in the Maldives. In total, 2 065 Russian citizens visited the Maldives in September 2020, which is 388% more than in August 2020.

At the same time, Russia is a leader among the rest of the countries, included in the TOP-10 of source markets for the Maldives. So, at the end of September, the UAE was in the second place with 1 029 tourists - which was only a half from the Russian result. On the third line was the United States (935 tourists), then - Great Britain (625), Spain (466), Brazil (444), Germany (362), France (279), India (262) and Egypt (232 tourists).

Nevertheless, the Russia's current leadership is a unique but temporary phenomenon, experts say. In the pre-pandemic period, the Russian Federation steadily was in the 5-6th place in the TOP-10 of the entry markets of the Maldives (despite the fact that in absolute figures the number of tourists from Russia was much higher). According to the Ministry of Tourism of the Maldives, in September 2019, 4 837 Russian citizens arrived in the islands. So, in annual terms, in September 2020, the tourist flow from the Russian Federation decreased by 57,3%.

Air traffic between Russia and the Maldives was restored on September 3, after the termination in the spring of this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 10, Aeroflot began operating direct flights from Moscow to Male. Also, in addition to these direct flights, tourists from Russia have access to connecting flights to the Maldives in Istanbul and Dubai (with one change) and in Istanbul and Doha (Qatar) - with 2 changes.