The Maldives is strengthening its efforts to expand its presence in the Chinese tourism market through participation in ITB China 2026, one of Asia’s leading travel trade exhibitions, currently underway in Shanghai.
A delegation from Visit Maldives is representing the Maldives at the event, which is being held from May 26 to May 28 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center. The annual fair brings together more than 900 tourism organizations from 85 countries and regions, along with over 1,700 buyers and tens of thousands of scheduled business meetings focused on the global travel and hospitality industry.
According to Visit Maldives, participation in the exhibition is aimed at further strengthening the Maldives’ position as a preferred destination among Chinese travelers while expanding ties with tour operators, travel agencies, online booking platforms and MICE industry planners operating in the Chinese market.
The Maldivian delegation is also scheduled to hold high-level discussions with international tourism stakeholders and industry officials during the fair. Meetings will focus on promoting the latest developments in the Maldives tourism sector, improving travel connectivity and enhancing destination-specific marketing campaigns tailored for Chinese visitors.
Discussions are expected to highlight luxury tourism products, honeymoon experiences, family travel packages, wellness retreats and diving holidays, alongside cultural and lifestyle experiences available across the Maldives. Visit Maldives said promotional campaigns and digital content showcased during the exhibition will emphasize the diversity of experiences available throughout the island nation.
Officials are also expected to engage with mainstream media outlets and digital content creators as part of efforts to expand the Maldives’ visibility across online and social media platforms in China.
China continues to play a crucial role in the Maldivian tourism industry and remains the country’s largest source market for visitor arrivals this year. Latest tourism statistics show that 136,459 Chinese tourists have visited the Maldives so far in 2026, representing a 26 percent increase compared to the 107,544 arrivals recorded during the same period last year.
The strong growth has reinforced China’s position at the top of the Maldives tourism market rankings, despite a broader slowdown in overall tourist arrivals to the country. While Chinese arrivals continued to climb steadily, total visitor arrivals to the Maldives reached 886,545 this year, marking a 5.2 percent decline compared to the corresponding period in 2025.
Tourism industry officials have linked the overall decline to instability affecting parts of the Middle East, a major transit region for travelers heading to South Asian destinations.
Among the Maldives’ leading tourism markets this year, China ranks first with 136,459 arrivals, followed by Russia with 117,052 tourists and the United Kingdom with 76,339 visitors.
Most international travelers continue to enter the country through Velana International Airport, which handled more than 861,000 passengers during the period. Meanwhile, Gan International Airport and Maafaru International Airport have also seen growing numbers of international arrivals serving resort destinations and regional tourism operations.
Accommodation trends also reflect the sector’s growing diversity. More than 600,000 tourists chose resort stays, while guesthouses attracted over 200,000 travelers seeking locally based and budget-friendly experiences. Hotels across the country accommodated a further 22,659 visitors.
The Maldives currently offers more than 67,000 tourist beds across resorts, guesthouses, hotels and liveaboard operations, providing significant capacity to support continued expansion in the tourism sector.
