Lakshadweep’s Agatti Airport Sees Passenger Numbers Double Amidst Maldives Boycott
The once-popular Maldives is losing its appeal among Indian tourists, with the April to June quarter of 2024 showing a significant shift in travel trends. Agatti Airport in Lakshadweep handled 22,990 passengers during this peak travel period, a substantial increase from the 11,074 passengers in the same period last year. This marks a remarkable doubling of footfall, as Indian tourists increasingly choose Lakshadweep over the Maldives.
The cooling of India-Maldives diplomatic relations since the rise of Mohamed Muizzu’s government last year has led to a social media-driven call to boycott the Maldives. This movement has gained momentum, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep in January 2024, which sparked further interest in the Indian archipelago as an alternative destination.
Data from the Maldives’ Ministry of Tourism highlights a dramatic drop in Indian visitors, with only 28,604 Indian tourists visiting the Maldives in the April to June quarter of 2024, compared to 54,207 in the same period last year—a nearly 50% decline. As a result, India has fallen to the sixth-largest market for tourism in the Maldives, with an overall decrease of 42.5% in Indian tourists in the first half of 2024.
