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Male, dated 09 March 2024, Saturday

Statistics show that Indian Tourists are becoming disillusioned with the country after the dispute between the anti-India President Moijjoo's government in Maldives.

Indian tourists are a major contributor to Maldives' tourism industry, but the number of Indians visiting the Maldives has dropped by 33 percent following the dispute with India. According to the figures released by the Ministry of Tourism of Maldives, the number of Indian tourists going to Maldives has decreased significantly in March-2024 compared to March 2023.

In March last year, India was ranked second in terms of number of tourists visiting Maldives and this year India is ranked sixth in the month of March. This time in March 27000 Indian tourists are visiting or will visit Maldives. Against this, 41000 Indians went to Maldives in the month of March last year.

However, China is becoming a support for Maldives. The number of Chinese tourists going to Maldives is increasing. The number of Chinese people going to Maldives in March is estimated to be 54000.

Moijju has increased its closeness with China and due to this the Chinese government is not encouraging its people to visit Maldives.

On the other hand, India has also started promoting the Lakshadweep Islands as an alternative to the Maldives and due to this, if the tourist facilities in Lakshadweep increase in the coming years, then the Lakshadweep Islands may become the favorite of Indians as an alternative to the Maldives.