Amidst Diplomatic Row, China Displaces India As Largest Tourism Market For Maldives

MALE: Amidst a diplomatic row between the Maldives and India, Chinese tourists have overtaken Indian holidaymakers visiting the archipelago nation, according to official figures released here on Monday.

According to official statistics from the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism, as of February 4, China, with 23,972 tourists occupied the number one slot (11.2 per cent market share in 2024); it was on the number three spot in 2023.

India, which was on the number 1 slot in 2023, has slipped down to 5th position as of Sunday with 16,536 tourists (7.7 per cent market share in 2024) coming to this island nation.

The development could be a fallout of a full-blown backlash directed at the Maldives following the derogatory remarks against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media by three Maldivian ministers after Modi posted photos and video on X of his visit to the pristine Lakshadweep Islands on India's west coast earlier in January.

Soon after the remarks against Modi went viral, hundreds of social media users, including celebrities, protested with calls to boycott tourism in Maldives and instead explore domestic destinations. Several social media users and even some travel companies claimed Indians are cancelling their scheduled trip to the Maldives following the diplomatic row.

Soon after taking oath as the President of Maldives on November 17, Muizzu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, formally requested India to withdraw 88 military personnel from his country by March 15, saying the Maldivian people have given him a "strong mandate" to make this request to New Delhi.

In the presidential runoff held in September last year, Muizzu, 45, defeated Indiafriendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

During his visit to Beijing in January, President Muizzu met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang and discussed ways to increase the number of tourists from China to his tourismdependent country, including increasing the number of direct flights between the two countries.

China on January 31 said it has worked out a "comprehensive mutual visa cooperation" agreement with 23 countries, including the Maldives.

According to the Maldives Tourism Ministry statistics, over 17 lakh tourists visited the island nation in 2023, out of which more than 2,09,198 were Indians followed by Russians (2,09,146) and China (1,87,118).