Tourism Minister, Dr. Abdulla Mausoom has said that at the end of the year 2021, 1.5 million tourists would have visited the Maldives.

He made the statement at the parliament today in response to a question from an MP.

Dr. Mausoom said that when the annual budget for 2021 was being prepared, it was estimated that 1 million tourists will be visiting the Maldives but with the vaccine received to the country, a review was made. And that review now estimates that 1.5 million tourists will be visiting he Maldives this year.

The Tourism Minister said that because the bed night and income is connected, this year, bed nights will be counted instead of the number of tourists.

And so, 10 million bed nights will be reached0 this year.

He said that despite the 1.5 expectation, visits were low in January due to major lockdowns in Europe due to COVID-19. However, hope has been renewed with the launch of the vaccination program in the country.

And as a result, Dr. Mausoom said, tourists will start visiting the Maldives from all over the world.