The Maldives was proudly named by UK and
Middle East holidaymakers as Favourite Country for a Holiday at
the 13th Ultimate Luxury Travel Related Awards (ULTRAs) gala, which took place
at the Emerald Palace Kempinski Hotel in Dubai on Monday, 27th January 2020.
Since September 2019, the readers of the UK
and Middle East editions of The Telegraphs Ultratravel magazine and Black Card
holders from the DISCOVERY loyalty programme operated by the Global Hotel
Alliance, have been voting for their favourite travel suppliers and
destinations in the world.
In 2019, the Maldives welcomed an influx of
new tourism developments, including the opening of several new family-friendly,
adult-only and high-end properties. In October 2019, the Maldives also
celebrated an increase in airlift for UK travellers with the launch of a new
five-times-weekly flight from London Heathrow to Male via Bahrain with Gulf
Air, making the destination even more accessible for British holidaymakers.
The island nation remains one of the UKs
most popular holiday destinations, with a total of 126,199 UK holidaymakers visiting
in 2019. This represents an impressive 10.1% year-on-year increase in UK
arrivals. The UK holds the fifth market ranking on tourist arrivals by
nationality, firmly holding 7.4% of the total market share and steadily
increasing year-on-year.
Maldives concluded 2019 with a record 1.67
million tourists, surpassing the destinations own revised forecast for the
year. The government has announced an ambitious target of attracting at least
two million tourists to the popular Indian Ocean holiday destination in 2020. The
government additionally aims to attract 2.5 million tourist arrivals per year
by the end of its first five-year term in 2023.
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