The Maldivian Escape

Maldives becomes a preferred destination for Indian travellers in the Covid era

- Akanksha Maker

THE HIGH-CLASS INDIAN GETAWAY

Snorkelling in cerulean waters to catch glimpses of vivid fish; soaking in the hues of the sunset from your private pool villa; dining on elusive islands as the chef brings you freshly prepared catch — there’s nothing like workation or vacation like this. And turns out, Indians have pursued all this and more in the Maldives, surprisingly when international borders closed and a pandemic was declared in the world. Open up your Instagram feed and you’ll find a number of folks in Maldives ever so frequently. The nation of islands in the Indian Ocean seamlessly became a preferred destination among the jet setters of the Indian upper class. The Indian High Commission in the Maldives released data to validate this — the top source market for Maldivian tourism in 2020 was India, with 62,905 arrivals — accounting for 11.3 per cent of the total share. The country recorded a sum of 5,55,399 arrivals in 2020 (lower than the 1.7 million in 2019, but much higher than the targeted 5,00,000 for the year). For 2021, the tourism authorities are targeting 1.5 million arrivals.