Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised to promote more direct flights to the Maldives days after President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu urged China to take the top spot in the Maldivian tourist market.
President Xi made these remarks during his official talks with visiting Maldivian President Muizzu and the delegation from the Maldives.
The Chinese President said that the two sides should strengthen multilateral communication and coordination to safeguard genuine multilateralism and the common interests of developing countries and build a community with a shared future for humanity to make the world more peaceful, secure, and prosperous.
He said China will support more Maldivian students to study in China and promote more direct flights between the two countries.
This reassurance from the Chinese President came days after President Muizzu urged China to intensify efforts to help regain the top spot in the Maldivian tourist market.
He made the statement while delivering his remarks at the Invest Maldives Forum at the Fuzhou Strait International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Fuzhou, China.
President Muizzu said that the Maldivian government has plans to diversify the tourism product and offer new experiences.
He said that these initiatives include a top-tier school of hospitality and exploring sports, medical, and cultural tourism.
President Muizzu reminded us that China was the number one tourist market in the Maldives before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the globe.
He requested the governments of the Maldives and China to intensify their efforts to help China regain this position.
China is currently the 3rd in the top ten tourist markets in the Maldives behind Russia and China.
Statistics from the Tourism Ministry show that more than 180,000 Chinese tourists visited the Maldives in 2023.
