From being the top tourist group visiting the archipelago nations, Indians went down to the sixth position in January on the back of mass ticket and hotel booking cancellations triggered by a diplomatic standoff between the two countries.
While China sent the maximum number of tourists to the island nation until 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit; in 2023, the Maldives saw the highest number of tourist arrivals from India.
The number was more than 2.4 lakh in 2022 while over 2.11 lakh Indians flew to the Maldives in 2021. The Maldives was also one of the few countries open for international tourists during the pandemic and nearly 63,000 Indians visited the country in that period.
India News: The anger over derogatory remarks made by Maldives politicians against PM Modi is leading to travel companies and industry chambers boycotting the arc
Historically, India and the Maldives have close ties, and a friendly stable regime in the island nation is important for India to counter the Chinese ambitions in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).