Tourist numbers jump 19 percent in February

Tourist arrivals rose 19 percent in February compared to the same month last year, despite a string of travel advisories issued during the ongoing state of emergency.

According to statistics released Thursday, 144,286 tourists visited during February, up 19.2 percent from the same month last year.

China remains the top supplier of tourists with 33,506 visitors in February. This is a rise of 38 percent compared to February last year.

Italy was the second largest market with 13,962 visitors, while the UK had 11,362 visitors to the Maldives in February.

Europe made the biggest contribution to the tourism market during the past two months with 54.4 percent of the total visitors.

The Maldives welcomed a record 1.3 million tourists last year, after the government fell short of reaching a target of 1.5 million the past two years.

Countries including China, India and the UK issued travel advisories after the state of emergency was declared on February 5.

It is due to end March 22.