From being the top tourist group visiting the Maldives, Indians have slipped to fifth position in the last three weeks, amid a diplomatic row between New Delhi and Male, according to official data.
Official figures released by the Maldives Ministry of Tourism showed a notable drop in the number of Indian travellers visiting the island nation.
Over 2 lakh Indians visited Maldives annually in the last three years, the highest from any country post-COVID 19 pandemic, the data showed.
However, the travel hotspot for Indians is now facing a backlash after three ministers from the Maldives cabinet made derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his visit to Lakshadweep earlier this month.
According to the statistics, Maldives received over 1.74 lakh tourists till January 28 this year, of which only 13,989 were Indians.
Russia topped the chart with 18,561 tourists from the country visiting Maldives, followed by Italy (18,111), China (16,529) and UK…
