MALE, January 18 (Haveeru News Service) – The Maldives ended 2010 with the highest number of tourist arrivals ever recorded as it rose by a whopping 20.7 compared to 2009.
The Tourism Ministry referred to statistics of Immigration Department and said 791,917 tourists visited the Maldives from January-December 2010 – 130,065 tourists more than 2009’s 685,852.
Figures show that China dominated the Maldives market last year with 118,961 tourists which accounts for 15 % of the total arrivals. Tourist arrivals from China increased by 96.1 % in 2010. UK follows China in second place with 114,158 as tourist arrivals from the country accounted for 14.4 % of the total arrivals.
Maldivian resorts operated 20,195 beds on average last year while the average occupancy stayed at 76.7 %. In 2009, 18,962 beds were operated while the average occupancy rate stayed at 72.5 %.
According to the statistics, tourists stayed 5.98 million nights in the Maldives – a 16.3 % increase to the 2009’s amount. The government expects tourist arrivals to cross the 800,000 target this year. |
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