The Finance Minister on Wednesday said 700,000 tourists are expected to visit the Maldives next year.

The number of tourists visiting the Maldives declined drastically due to border closures and travel restrictions resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Maldives closed its border to tourists on March 27 as a precautionary measure against the pandemic, and reopened the borders after three months on July 15.

Speaking at the Parliament on Wednesday, Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer said the government made models for different scenarios that are likely to occur due to the pandemic. Although the government previously expected 800,000 tourists to visit the country by the end of the year, the figure has been revised to 450,000 after the number of arrivals remained disappointingly low compared to pre-COVID-19 figures, said the minister.

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