UK visitors to the Maldives were up nearly 10% in 2016 as the number of arrivals broke the 100,000 mark.
There was a 9.8% increase from 92,775 UK arrivals to the Indian Ocean islands in 2015 to 101,843 UK tourists in 2016.
UK arrivals made up 7% of visitors to the Maldives.
Visit Maldives, which records the figures, expects the number of arrivals to rise further during 2017 with new hotel developments on the horizon and the upcoming creation of a new Trans Maldivian Airways seaplane base at the recently redeveloped Gan International Airport, which had a $50 million investment.
Mr. Haris Mohamed, acting managing director at Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation, said: “We’re very pleased to see an increase in visitors from the UK and that the Maldives is still one of the UK’s favourite holiday destinations.
“The airport’s renovation will enable long-haul operations and direct connectivity via seaplane transfers to the southern regional resort network, hopefully welcoming even more UK tourists throughout 2017.”