COLOMBO -- The Maldives' gamble to open borders in mid-July has begun to reap small but promising returns as international airlines arrive with Western tourists seeking a reprieve from the life-sapping grip of the pandemic to laze at the country's luxury resorts.
By mid-October, some 26,500 high-spending holidaymakers had touched down in the Indian Ocean nation, up from 1,767 during the second half of July. Travelers from Russia, the U.S., Britain, Spain, Germany and France are among the top 10 countries comprising this tourism revival, according to the ministry of tourism. Others have come from the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and India, the only Asian nation on the list.
