Maldives on Sunday welcomed the 1.5 millionth tourist of the year, reaching the target for tourist arrivals this year.

At a special event held at Velana International Airport Sunday morning, officials from the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) and the tourism ministry welcomed the 1.5 millionth visitor. The tourist is a Russian national named Marina Kazakova.

Tourism Minister Ali Waheed welcomed the tourist alongside some cultural presentations.

According to latest official figures, total arrivals for the first nine months of the year increased by 15.8 per cent to reach 1,251,690 compared to the 1,080,459 in the same period last year.

Maldives welcomed a record 1.4 million tourists in 2018. It was a 6.8 per cent increase from the 1,389,542 tourists that chose to holiday in the Maldives in 2017.

The government had revised its forecast for the number of tourists visiting the island nation this year, increasing the estimate to a record 1.6 million from 1.5 million.