In the first quarter of 2019 the Russian tourist flow to the exotic island destinations of the Indian Ocean continued to grow. In total, for the first quarter of 2019 73,764 tourists from the Russian Federation visited the exotic island destinations of the Indian Ocean - the Seychelles, Maldives, Mauritius and Sri Lanka, which is 14.57% more than a year earlier. The main contribution to the growth of the Russian tourist traffic was made by Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Only Seychelles demonstrated negative dynamics, but by the end of the first quarter this destination shows a trend to exit from a protracted decline.
So, Sri Lanka is on the first position in terms of the volume of the Russian tourist flow and the dynamics of growth among the exotic islands of the Indian Ocean in the first quarter of 2019. In January-March 2019 39,187 Russian tourists visited Sri Lanka. This is 23.6% more than in the first quarter of 2018. At the same time, in March, the number of Russian arrivals increased significantly: the number of Russian citizens arrived on the island was 39.8% more than a year earlier.
Such growth is connected with successful charter programs of Russian tour operators and an increase of direct regular transportation to Colombo by Rossia Airlines. The Russian market grew in Sri Lanka in the first quarter very brightly against the background of the general dynamics of foreign tourist traffic to the island (total + 4.6%). As a result, among the dozens of source markets for Sri Lanka, Russia rose from the 7-th to the 6-th position in the ranking.
According to the Ministry of Tourism of the Maldives, over the period January-March 2019 Maldives was visited by 26,284 tourists from the Russian Federation, which is 7.7% more than last year. At the same time in March, the annual increase in Russian tourist traffic was 18%, compared with March 2018. The overall increase in foreign tourist traffic to the Maldives in the first quarter was +15% and Russia was ranked on the 7-th line in the TOP-10 of the entry markets of the Maldives.
According to the statistical bureau of Mauritius, 4,298 tourists from Russia arrived on this island state in January-March. This is not only 10% more than in the same period last year, but also for the first time more than the Russian quarterly tourist flow to the Seychelles.
The Seychelles are on the last position. According to the local tourism ministry, over the first three months of 2019 3,995 Russian tourists arrived in Seychelles, which is 8% less than a year earlier. The fall of the Russian tourist flow to the Seychelles continued all the year 2018, but at the beginning of this year, the rate of this trend slowed. So, in March 2019 1,368 tourists from the Russian Federation arrived on the Seychelles against 1,395 a year earlier (minus 1.94%).
