The Maldives has welcomed the first tourist visitor for this year, Nikolai Stratichuk from Russia with a special ceremony held at Velana International Airport (VIA) this morning.

The first visitor for this year arrived on Etihad flight Etihad Airways EY278 at around 6:05 this morning. He was greeted by senior officials from the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/Visit Maldives), along with executives from the Ministry of Tourism, Maldives Immigration and Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL). Nikolai was accompanied on this trip by his family. This is his first visit to the Maldives.

The first visitor received a 5 night stay at Reethi Faru Resort. Other special gifts were also conferred to the first visitor of 2022, including gifts from MMPRC, the Ministry of Tourism, MACL and Dhiraagu.

Last year, the government set a target of attracting 1.6 million tourists. The target was reached in December 2022, as the Maldives welcomed 1.6 millionth visitor for the year two weeks ahead of the end of the 2022.

For this year, the government has set a target of attracting 1.8 million tourists.