Fallout of diplomatic row: India drops to 5th place in Maldives tourism charts

As diplomatic relations between India and Maldives took a hit in recent months, India has slipped four notches down on the island nation’s Top 10 Markets 2024 list of countries, which indicates the top nations that sends the most number of tourists to its shores.

According to the Maldives' ministry of tourism, India slid from the No 1 slot in 2023 to the fifth position on January 28 this year in terms of the number of tourist arrivals from India, even as China moved to occupy the 3rd position. The slide in the ranking, according to media reports, is attributed to the ongoing diplomatic stand-off between the two countries, triggered by derogatory comments made by Maldivian ministers against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Subsequently, Male on January 14 asked New Delhi to withdraw its military troops by March 15.

The announcement came even as an India–Maldives high-level core group held its first meeting in Male. The core group was set up after Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks on the sidelines of the Dubai Climate Summit to strengthen ties.

President Muizzu, considered close to China, had made the removal of Indian military troops from his country one of his poll planks in the September 2023 elections.

The boycott row

Prime Minister Modi on January 2 visited Lakshadweep, the Indian archipelago in the Arabian Sea, and shared pictures of the visit on social media in an apparent bid to promote it as a tourism destination for Indians. However, his post was mocked by some ministers of President Muizzu’s cabinet, who saw it as an attempt to wean Indian tourists away from the island nation.

Three Maldivian ministers made uncharitable comments in their social media posts (which has been removed) about the Indian prime minister, which kicked up a huge storm with Indians giving a call to boycott Maldives as a tourist destination.

Amid #BoycottMaldives call trending on social media, there were reports of cancellation of trips to Maldives, with EaseMyTrip suspending flight bookings. Top Bollywood actors, whose favourite holiday destination is the Maldives, also came out in support of the boycott call.

According to the data published by the Maldivian tourism ministry on its website, China was nowhere on the Top 10 Markets 2024 list on January 3, while India was in the 3rd slot, with a 7.1 per cent share in its tourism market. Though India’s market share rose to 8 percent on January 28, it slipped two notches down in the ranking, while China overtook its place, apparently as a result of a sharp drop in tourist arrivals amid the escalating diplomatic tensions.