Lakshadweep is witnessing a significant surge of tourists since Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to people to visit the island. Maldives, which was once the prime choice for the Indians, saw a mammoth dip in footfall from India. The prevailing conditions have been attributed to the diplomatic fallout between the two nations, following calls by social media influencers to boycott Maldives.

Notwithstanding Mohamed Muizzu’s visit to India during the oath ceremony of PM Modi and slight settlement of things on the diplomatic front, the erstwhile figure of Indians visiting Maldives hasn’t yet been restored.

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Contrary to this, the number of people visiting Lakshadweep has drastically increased.

As per data, released by Maldives’ Ministry of Tourism, over 28,604 Indians visited the island nation in the April-June quarter this year. This figure was 54,207 for the same period in 2023.

During the April to June quarter, which coincides with India's peak travel season, Agatti—the sole airport in Lakshadweep—handled 22,990 passengers, nearly doubling its footfall compared to 11,074 passengers in the same period last year.

However, Maldives’ appeal to China to send more tourists seems to have worked as the former witnessed the influx of over 1.6 lakh Chinese tourists in the first six months of 2024.

For the unversed, social media initiated a fervid debate over considering Lakshadweep as their top tourist hub. This came after PM Modi visited the island and appealed to people in this regard. Amid the boycott Maldives call from India, the irked officials of the island nation made several derogatory remarks against PM Modi. This led to a drastic diplomatic tussle between the two nations.

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However, things got settled after Mohamed Muizzu visited India for PM Modi’s oath ceremony. Besides, EAM S Jaishankar also visited Maldives.