Malé, Maldives – More than 34,000 locals traveled abroad during the most recent school holidays, revealed Immigration today.
Local media have reported that according to Maldives Immigration, a total of 34,355 Maldivians traveled to various countries out of the Maldives during the school holidays, which spanned from 30th June to 7th August.
According to previous data, this is about four fold more than last year. According to Immigration statistics, only 9,500 exits were recorded from Maldives between June and August of 2021.
With this, the amount of foreign currency that exited the country is also expected to have increased. Bank of Maldives (BML) has a policy of issuing USD 500 in exchange for local currency, per ticket abroad, which means that nearly USD 17.2 million would have exited the country at the very least.
Additionally, the number of passports issues towards the beginning of the holidays also increased. On an average day, the Immigration office issues around 200 passports. However, by May, the office was receiving anywhere up to 800 application forms, local reports suggest.
Among the countries most visited by Maldivians this year include India, Sri Lanka and the UAE.
