Maldives Tourist Arrivals Fall 3.9% as October Opens Below Last Year

Tourist arrivals to the Maldives reached 1,597,375 by 4 October, down 3.9 per cent from the same period last year, according to the tourism ministry’s latest daily figures.

The country received 25,398 tourists during the first four days of October, compared with 25,704 a year earlier. That represents 306 fewer arrivals, a decline of 1.2 per cent.

The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation’s 5 October update covers arrivals through Sunday, 4 October. The year-to-date tourist total is 64,818 below the 1,662,193 recorded at the same point in 2025.

The ministry separately reports total international visitors, including business arrivals and cruise passengers. That broader measure stood at 1,628,419, down 3.3 per cent. Business and cruise figures are updated at month-end, so the report does not yet include October figures for those two categories.

September Finished Slightly Below 2025

September recorded 148,801 tourists, compared with 149,563 in September 2025. The difference was 762 visitors, or about 0.5 per cent.

Including business visitors, September’s total reached 150,764. The report records 1,963 business arrivals and no cruise passengers for the month.

October opened with 5,882 tourists on Thursday, followed by 6,528 on Friday, 6,632 on Saturday and 6,356 on Sunday. Across the four days, the average was 6,349 tourists a day.

Percentage changes in the table are calculated from the ministry’s tourist counts and rounded to one decimal place. They exclude business arrivals and cruise passengers.

China and Russia Remain the Largest Markets

China accounted for 308,913 tourists, or 19.3 per cent of the year-to-date total. Russia followed with 232,676, representing 14.6 per cent.

The United Kingdom ranked third with 121,239 arrivals, ahead of Germany with 101,366 and Italy with 99,106. India was sixth with 92,366.

China and Russia together supplied 541,589 tourists, approximately one-third of all tourist arrivals recorded by 4 October. The United States, Australia, France and Spain completed the ministry’s top ten source markets.

Guesthouses Account for More Than One in Five Arrivals

The ministry’s accommodation distribution assigns 1,177,728 tourist arrivals to resorts, a 73.7 per cent share. Guesthouses accounted for 349,861, or 21.9 per cent.

Hotels represented 2.3 per cent and tourist vessels 1.9 per cent. The remaining 0.2 per cent fell under other accommodation. These figures describe the distribution of arrivals and do not measure occupancy or room revenue.

As of 4 October, the ministry listed 1,288 accommodation establishments and vessels in operation, with 67,961 beds. These included 180 resorts and marinas, 927 guesthouses, 16 hotels and 165 safari vessels.

The operating guesthouse network covered 113 islands across 20 atolls. Resorts and marinas accounted for 45,171 operational beds, while guesthouses provided 16,810.