Maldives on Sunday welcomed the one millionth visitor of 2018.
At a media event held at Velana International Airport Sunday morning, officials from the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) and the tourism ministry welcomed Koralp Guner, who arrived on Turkish Airlines Flight No. TK730 with his wife for their honeymoon.
The event commenced with the stamping of the one millionth visitor by the Maldives immigration. Mr and Mrs Guner were then escorted with a traditional Maldivian Bodu Beru performance to the VIP lounge where they were welcomed by deputy tourism minister Hussain Lirar and MMPRC’s Acting Managing Director Haris Mohamed.
Velana International Airport was decorated with a special banner, while a congratulatory plaque and withspecial gifts representing traditional Maldivian culture and tourism were given to the couple.
Guner, who is an American national, and his Turkish wife were also awarded with a complimentary five-night holiday package sponsored by Mövenpick Resort Kuredhivaru Maldives along with complimentary domestic transfers from Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA). A Dhiraagu Tourist Pack Premium with a special 100GB data add-on was also given to Guner.
Compared to last year’s arrival figures, the Maldives marks one millionth visitor milestone this year a month ahead. Last year’s one millionth mark was reached on October 1.
From January-August period this year, the Maldives welcomed 972,832 tourists — an 8.3 percent increase over the 892,025 visitors during the same period of last year.
Total arrivals to the Maldives last year stood at 1.3 million. The government has announced an ambitious target of a record 1.5 million tourist arrivals this year.