The Maldives on Sunday welcomed the 1 millionth tourist to arrive this year.

A special ceremony was held this morning at Velana International Airport (VIA) to welcome the 1 millionth tourist. Tourism Minister Abdulla Mausoom, MMPRC Managing Director Thoyyib Mohamed, senior officials of MACL, and the tourism industry were present during the ceremony as well.

Russian-born Anton Pavlo, who lives in the UK, was marked as the 1 millionth tourist to arrive this morning on a British Airways flight. This is Anton's first visit to the country. He had come to the Maldives with his wife and son for a holiday at Vakkaru Maldives Resort in Baa Atoll.

Talking to reporters, Anton said he has been wanting to come with my family for a long time, and his first visit has brought about an unexpected surprise. He further added that he does want to visit the country in the future as well.

"I want to come here next year as well. We want to be the 2 millionth tourist to arrive in the Maldives next year," his wife added.

The government aims to attract 1.9 million tourists to the Maldives this year. While one million tourists have arrived so far, Russia and the UK remain among the top three countries with the highest number of tourist arrivals.

Speaking to the media after welcoming the 1 millionth tourist, Minister Mausoom said that while tourist arrivals had dropped in the last two months due to the off-season, the number of tourist arrivals is now increasing again. He added that the number of tourists will increase during the season and the target of attracting 1.9 million tourists will be achieved.