MALÉ, Maldives — Indian High Commissioner G. Balasubramanian has met Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) Chairman Hussain Afeef and members of the association's board to discuss strengthening tourism cooperation and expanding travel opportunities between the two countries.
The meeting focused on reinforcing longstanding bilateral tourism relations, enhancing travel cooperation and identifying new opportunities for mutual growth, according to the Indian High Commission in the Maldives.
The discussions come as both countries continue efforts to strengthen tourism ties following a substantial decline in Indian visitor arrivals during 2024.
Over 315,000 Indian Tourists Since May 2024
Official tourism figures show that approximately 315,252 Indian tourists visited the Maldives between May 2024 and October 14, 2026, covering nearly two and a half years.
During the final eight months of 2024, the Maldives received 88,178 Indian tourists, while another 131,625 arrivals were recorded throughout 2025.
In 2026, Indian tourist arrivals reached 95,449 by October 14, accounting for approximately 5.8 percent of total tourist arrivals and placing India as the Maldives' sixth-largest source market.
The figures indicate that India continues to be an important contributor to Maldivian tourism despite a marked decline from its earlier position as the country's leading tourism market.
In 2023, India was the Maldives' largest source market, contributing 209,193 tourists. However, arrivals fell sharply to 130,805 in 2024, representing a decline of approximately 37.5 percent.
The downturn followed diplomatic tensions between the two countries in early 2024, including a controversy surrounding remarks made by Maldivian government officials about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that triggered calls for a tourism boycott in India.
Although bilateral relations subsequently improved, the Indian tourism market has yet to return to its 2023 arrival levels.
The Maldives received 131,625 Indian tourists in 2025, an increase of just 0.6 percent compared with 2024, indicating that the recovery remained modest despite renewed promotional activities.
Tourism Bed Nights and Economic Contribution
Tourism statistics also highlight the importance of attracting visitors who stay longer, rather than focusing exclusively on arrival numbers.
According to the Maldives Monetary Authority, the country recorded approximately 13.34 million tourist bed nights in 2024, increasing to around 13.65 million in 2025.
However, the average duration of stay across all international tourist markets declined from 7.4 days in 2024 to 7.0 days in 2025.
The publicly available official statistics do not separately identify the total number of bed nights generated by Indian tourists during the period. Consequently, the precise number of nights spent by Indian visitors cannot be established from published arrival figures alone.
For the Maldives, bed nights are a significant tourism performance indicator, reflecting accommodation demand and contributing to resort and guesthouse occupancy, employment and tourism-related revenues.
Increasing Indian tourist arrivals, alongside longer stays and higher visitor spending, could therefore provide additional benefits to the Maldivian tourism industry.
Renewed Efforts to Attract Indian Visitors
The latest engagement between the Indian High Commission and MATI follows several initiatives aimed at strengthening the Maldives' presence in the Indian travel market.
In September 2026, Visit Maldives participated in ITB India in Mumbai, accompanied by 17 tourism and aviation industry co-exhibitors.
The promotional programme brought Maldivian tourism representatives together with Indian travel agents, tour operators, corporate travel managers and other industry stakeholders.
Visit Maldives has also outlined joint marketing activities with Indian travel operators, a marketing partnership with IndiGo and familiarisation programmes involving media representatives and influencers.
Improved air connectivity, coordinated destination promotion and closer cooperation with Indian travel companies could help the Maldives regain a larger share of the Indian outbound tourism market.
Indian travellers are an important potential market for the Maldives because of the two countries' geographical proximity, established air connections and longstanding people-to-people ties.
Strengthening Long-Term Tourism Cooperation
MATI, one of the Maldives' leading tourism industry associations, represents established businesses and investors involved in the development and operation of the country's tourism sector.
Afeef, a prominent figure in the Maldivian tourism industry and one of its early pioneers, was appointed MATI Chairman in February 2026.
The association has played a longstanding role in representing the interests of tourism businesses and engaging with government institutions and international partners on industry development.
The latest discussions with the Indian High Commissioner reflect continued engagement between the tourism industry and India as both sides explore opportunities to strengthen visitor flows and commercial partnerships.
With India remaining among the Maldives' largest tourism source markets, renewed promotional cooperation and improved travel accessibility could support future growth, particularly as the industry seeks to diversify its markets and strengthen tourism revenues.
