Foreign national travellers visiting the Maldives will be required to adhere to all guidelines stipulated by the Maldivian government

RCI celebrates the return of inbound foreign travellers to the Maldives with affiliated resorts. Since July 2021, when the island nation reopened its travel borders to international tourists, there has been a significant increase in vacation inquiries and bookings to the Maldives by RCI members worldwide.

According to a recent RCI booking trends report, the Maldives will be the most popular and largest international tourist destination in 2021, despite the pandemic. According to the report, the overall search for the Maldives as a destination on RCI.com increased by 595 per cent. The first and second quarters of 2021 saw the highest volume of RCI members choosing the Maldives as a preferred destination, with bookings increasing by 151 per cent in the first quarter and 195 per cent in the second quarter. India, the United States of America, China, Vietnam, England, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Finland, and South Africa are the top ten countries with the highest volume of bookings in RCI for the Maldives.

“We are pleased to see RCI contributing to the grand scheme of tourism growth, India has emerged as one of the top source markets for tourist arrivals in the Maldives in 2021. Members are increasingly seeking more information and are inquisitive to know about safety standards, flexible cancellation policies etc. We anticipate demand for Maldives travel not only from India but also other countries such as The United States of America, China, Vietnam, England, Brazil, Australia, Canada and South Africa,” said Paul Mulcahy, Managing Director for RCI APAC, India & EMEA.

As per the report, the overall demand by RCI members from India experienced a surge in overall demand by 245 per cent in the first half of 2021 as compared to 2020. The booking trends also showcases an increase of 143 per cent in the first quarter and 656 per cent in the second quarter of 2021 when compared with the same time period in 2020. The most favoured Maldives resorts chosen by RCI members are surrounded by turquoise waters that shine with coral and marine life, to name a few these being Medhufushi Island Resort, Filitheyo Island Resort, Hondaafushi Island Resort, Grand Park Kodhipparu. The members also have hotel options available through Alliance Reservations Network (ARN).

Munaz Maharoof, General Manager, AAA Resorts commented, “We have started seeing signs of recovery with regard to tourism in the Maldives and have witnessed a wide array of interest from travellers across the globe over the last few months, which affirms their keenness to travel to a safe destination. The island aims to achieve 1.5 million tourist arrivals in 2021 and is accepting bookings to go back to pre-covid levels by December 2021 and are constantly adding new products and attractions in order to cater to the increasing arrivals. Today we are very well prepared to welcome the guests by providing them with utmost AAA Standard for Care, Safety and Cleanliness at our resort.”

Foreign nationals visiting the Maldives must follow all guidelines established by the Maldivian government. Tourists will be granted visas on arrival if they produce a negative RT-PCR test report within 96 hours, regardless of vaccination status. Upon arrival, travellers will be required to present a confirmed resort booking as well as travel insurance.