India drives Maldives tourism growth

International visitor arrivals to the Maldives increased 13.9% in July 2014, largely driven by a strong rise in numbers from India.
According to the latest data from the country’s tourist board, a total of 100,191 overseas visitors travelled to the Indian Ocean archipelago during the month. And a sharp 38% jump in Indian arrivals was one of the main factors behind the growth.
“[The] growth rate has remained positive and above average which is great news for all of Maldives source markets, including India which has also shown an upward swing,” said Shikha Mishra, media & PR manager at the Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation’s India office.
The Asia Pacific accounted for 61% of all arrivals to the Maldives in July 2014, with India the second largest source market after China.
For the first seven months of the year, visitor numbers to the Maldives have now increased 16.7%.
Source: Travel Daily