Despite a recent diplomatic dispute, data from the Maldives Tourism Ministry reveals that over 2 lakh Indians chose the island nation as their travel destination annually for the past three years, making India the leading source of tourists after the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, Maldives welcomed over 17 lakh tourists, with Indian visitors totaling over 2,09,198. Russians (2,09,146) and Chinese (1,87,118) followed closely as the next most common nationalities.
In 2022, the Maldives hosted over 2.4 lakh Indian tourists, surpassing the 2.11 lakh recorded in 2021. The Maldives, being one of the few nations allowing foreign visitors during the pandemic, saw approximately 63,000 Indian travelers during that challenging period.
India’s tourism ranking for the Maldives has seen a notable rise. In 2018, with 90,474 visitors, India ranked fifth in terms of tourists to the Maldives. This figure rose to second place in 2019, with 1.66 lakh Indian tourists visiting the island nation.
However, the popular travel destination is currently under scrutiny due to disparaging remarks made by three Maldivian cabinet ministers about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his recent visit to Lakshadweep.
Amidst the online campaign calling for a boycott of Maldives, social media users cited the trending hashtag “#BoycottMaldives” as a reason for canceling their planned trips to the nation.
In response to the controversy, EaseMyTrip, a prominent tour company, took a stand by suspending all flight reservations to the Maldives. This decision follows the disparaging remarks made by certain suspended ministers regarding India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with his Lakshadweep visit.
