Maldives tourism statistics: arrivals, markets and trends

Three public bodies publish most of the numbers.

• Ministry of Tourism and Environment. It counts arrivals every day from immigration data and publishes daily, weekly, monthly and annual reports. Its annual *Tourism Yearbook* holds the detailed tables. The 2025 edition, released in December 2025, covers 2024.
• Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA). The central bank’s Table 3.1, “Tourism Indicators”, sets out arrivals, bed nights, average stay, bed capacity and occupancy by month and year. Its sources are the tourism ministry, the MMA itself and Maldives Airports Company Limited, which runs Velana International Airport.
• Maldives Immigration. Since August 2020, average stay has been worked out from the immigration portal (MMA footnote).

National news outlets such as PSM News, The Edition and Raajje report the ministry’s weekly updates. They are useful for running totals, but year-to-date figures shift as the ministry revises them.

Arrivals have risen every year since the pandemic. MMA rounds its figures to the nearest thousand.

Sources: Ministry of Tourism and Environment (totals for 2023–2025, as reported by PSM News); MMA Table 3.1 (2022 total and average stay).

A few things stand out.

• 2024 was the first year above two million. The government’s target of 2.3 million for 2025 was not reached, though the total still set a record.
• People arrive in larger numbers but stay for less time. The average stay fell from 8.0 days in 2022 to 7.0 days in 2025.
• Spending kept rising. Ministry figures reported by PSM News put tourist spending in 2025 at more than USD 5.4 billion, up 15.8% on 2024.

For the longer story, read our short history of tourism in the Maldives. For what these numbers mean for jobs and government income, see the Maldivian economy explained.

2025: China leads

In 2025, ministry figures reported by PSM News gave these top three markets:

• China: 329,428 arrivals, about 14.7% of the total
• Russia: 278,760 arrivals, about 12.4%
• United Kingdom: 202,171 arrivals, about 9.0%

Germany, Italy and India were the next-largest markets. It was the first year since 2017 that China sent more than 300,000 visitors (as reported). China’s record year is still 2015.

How the ranking has changed

The top market changes from year to year, and sometimes from month to month.

• 2023: Russia finished on top, with India and China close behind. All three were near 11% each, according to the ministry’s December updates. India had led for part of that year.
• 2024: China took first place with about 13% of arrivals. Russia was second at about 11% and the UK third at about 9% (ministry update, late December 2024). India fell to sixth.
• 2025: China, Russia and the UK again, with China’s share growing.

Visitors stayed an average of 7.0 days in 2025, according to MMA, down from 7.4 days in 2024 and 7.6 days in 2023. Monthly averages in 2025 ran from about 6.6 days (May) to 7.5 days (July).

If you’re planning your own trip, our 7-day local island itinerary fits the typical length of stay.

Resorts and guesthouses

Ministry figures for 2025, as reported:

• Resorts: about 1.6 million visitors, around 73%
• Guesthouses on local islands: about 500,000 visitors, around 22%, or roughly one in five
• Hotels and liveaboards: the rest. By mid-August 2025, hotels had 2.6% and liveaboards about 2%.

Guesthouse tourism is now a large part of many island economies. It brings income straight to island families, boat crews, cafés and shops.

Beds and occupancy

MMA’s figures for 2025 show:

• Registered bed capacity: 65,891 beds
• Operational beds: 64,645 on average through the year
• Occupancy: 58.3% across the year

The ministry counted about 970 guesthouses with about 16,800 beds on more than 110 islands at the end of 2025. Earlier in 2025, it reported guesthouses on about 116 islands across 20 atolls. The exact island count moves as places open and close.

Dhiffushi in North Malé (Kaafu) Atoll is one of those islands. It has around 1,270 residents (2022 census), and its guesthouses sit among family homes. You can see the island’s registered places to stay on our stay page. If you’re weighing up the two kinds of stay, read local island or resort? and staying in a guesthouse in the Maldives.

The pattern follows the monsoons and northern-hemisphere holidays. Here are monthly arrivals for 2025 (ministry figures, as reported by PSM News):

• Busiest: December (224,455, the highest month on record at the time), January (214,863) and February (214,091)
• Quietest: May (135,614), June (141,772) and September (149,563)
• Middle: March to April, July to August, and October to November, at about 186,000–203,000 a month

Occupancy follows the same curve. MMA puts it at about 78% in February 2025 and about 39% in June 2025.

The record has moved several times. February 2024 set a new high of 217,392. December 2025 beat it, and then February 2026 reached 247,722, the highest month ever (ministry, March 2026).

What this means for you: December to March is the busiest and usually driest time. The southwest monsoon months, from mid-May to November, are quieter, with more rain and often better availability. See the best time to visit the Maldives and our month guide for June for the trade-offs.

These figures are provisional and will be revised.

• January and February 2026 were strong. February set the all-time monthly record.
• March to June 2026 were weaker than a year earlier. The ministry pointed to the Middle East conflict and disruption to air routes that many visitors use to reach the Maldives.
• One million arrivals came on 21 June 2026, at roughly the same point in the year as in 2025 (ministry).
• January to August 2026: about 1,423,000 arrivals, against about 1,487,000 in the same months of 2025, a fall of about 4% (MMA).

The government’s 2026 target is 2.5 million arrivals (ministry). That is a target, not a forecast. Check the ministry’s latest weekly update for the current total.

• Arrivals are trips, not people. Someone who visits twice counts twice.
• Year-to-date figures change. News reports often quote running totals that are later revised. For final figures, use the ministry’s annual releases or the MMA table.
• Market shares depend on the cut-off date. A ranking from May can look very different from the December one.
• Bed counts differ by definition. “Registered” beds include places not yet open. “Operational” beds are those trading.

For the people who live here, rather than those who visit, see the Maldives population and the 2022 census.