More than five months since Chinese tourists started returning after a nearly three-year hiatus, China is expected to become the third largest tourist market for the Maldives in early August, the tourism ministry predicted.
The Maldives welcomed 87,662 Chinese tourists as of 26 July, representing a market share of 8.3% after overtaking Germany in fourth place.
Russia regained top spot with 123,731 tourists as India slipped to second with 121,046 tourists, followed by the United Kingdom (88,204) and Germany (71,642).
A total of 1,050,661 million holidaymakers visited by 26 July, up 13.4% from the same period last year, putting the Maldives on course to achieving the revised arrivals target of 1.9 million tourists for 2023.
China was the single largest source market before the pandemic with 284,029 visitors in 2019, representing a 17% market share. The first direct flight from China since early 2020 arrived on 18 January 2023, shortly after the country ended Covid-19 travel restrictions.
Two Chinese carriers, Capital Airlines and China Eastern, currently operate direct flights to the Velana International Airport with Sichuan Airlines due to commence flights in August.
Earlier this month, the Chinese embassy advised tourists from the country to exercise caution in the water.
The State Trading Organisation opened the first-of-its-kind ‘Smart Store’ in the country in Hulhumalé. The cashier-less shop uses “grab and go” technology with artificial intelligence and sensors. A mobile phone app enables entry with a QR code or facial recognition and automatically adds items to a cart and settles payment upon exit.
Grant aid worth €1.4 million from the European Union has been disbursed to 406 small and medium-sized tourism businesses, state media reported.
The EU pandemic recovery grants were provided to 341 guesthouses and 65 safari vessels through the government-owned Maldives Fund Management Corporation, which has been conducting information sessions for issuing grants under the second component of the ‘EU Support for a Resilient Recovery of SME Tourism Industry in the Maldives.’
Appearing on the state broadcaster, Commissioner General of Customs Abdulla Shareef revealed plans to build a new terminal to handle the increasing volume of courier packages.
The number of packages delivered through courier service has risen exponentially with the growth of e-commerce and the popularity of online shopping among Maldivians, he said. The plan was to set up a “separate courier service terminal, a separate godown, and separate cargo complex”.
The Maldives Monetary Authority officially commenced pilot testing of the ‘Maldives Instant Payment System’ ahead of an official launch in August.
The “system pilot testing phase” started in partnership with the Bank of Maldives, Maldives Islamic Bank and the State Bank of India.
The first phase of the project focuses on domestic transactions but connections to the national payment systems of other countries under the second phase will allow the use of online payment systems such as Paypal for the first time, according to the central bank.
