VIA Welcomes the First Tourist of the Year 2023.

Velana International Airport: January 1, 2023 - Velana International Airport (VIA) welcomes the first visitor of 2023, Nikolai Stratichuk from Russia. The first visitor arrived from Etihad Airways (EY278) at around 6:05 this morning. 

He was greeted by senior officials from the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/Visit Maldives), along with executives from the Ministry of Tourism, Maldives Immigration and Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL). Nikolai was accompanied on this trip by his family. This is his first visit to the Maldives.

first visitor received a 5-night stay at Reethi Faru Resort. Other special gifts were also conferred to the first visitor of 2022, including gifts from MMPRC, the Ministry of Tourism, MACL and Dhiraagu.

Last year, the Maldives achieved its target of 1.6 million tourists through the collaborative efforts of industry stakeholders. Velana International Airport (VIA) served more than 2 million passengers last year.

 Maldives Airports Company Limited, the operator of VIA, is bringing significant developments to the airport to improve the quality of service. With the commencement of operations on the new runway in early October, the number of airlines traveling to VIA has increased significantly. The opening of Noovilu Seaplane Terminal enhanced the world's largest seaplane operations.