Penta Ocean Travels events news. /news Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:36:23 GMT With a total of 675,889 tourists, it has been recorded that 2007 had been a record year for tourist arrivals in the Maldives. It was projected that the arrivals would be 8.5% higher than the previous year; however, tourist arrivals exceeded the projection by 3.8% resulting in a 12.3% increase from the previous year. The monthly arrivals figures are as follows: January (64,570), February (65,224), March (64,491), April (63,171), May (46,602), June (38,457), July (51,025), August (53,168), September (48,468), October (58,706), November (56,797), and December (65,210). With 125,158 tourist arrivals, United Kingdom ranked top among the source markets, followed by Italy with a total of 117,246 tourists. Third highest ranked was Germany with 72,269 tourists followed by France, Japan and China with a total of 45,301, 41,121 and 35,976 tourists respectively. The total bed nights for the end of 2007 were 5,293,224, and this is an increase of 9.7% than the previous year. The occupancy recorded for resorts/hotels for the year 2007 was 82.9%. An average of 17,511 beds had been operated throughout last year. The average stay of a tourist has increased to 8.5 days for 2007 from 8.0 days in 2006. Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:36:23 GMT /news/view/2 At the launch of its annual long-haul report, leading specialist tour operator Kuoni Travel announced that the Maldives has retained its Number 1 position as the favourite long-haul destination both for 2007 and going forward to 2008. Also at the top of the table for 2007, Thailand remains at Number 2, Egypt has climbed one place to Number 3 and Kenya and Dubai have retained the Number 4 and 5 places respectively. As predicted in last year’s report, China, including Hong Kong, had an outstanding year in 2007, with business to mainland China up by some 60%, climbing two places to Number 6. Looking forward to 2008, early ’hot stars’ include India, climbing two places to Number 9, with year on year growth of some 30%, South Africa, into the Top Twenty at Number 18, with growth of 14% and Bali, which is enjoying a welcome resurgence and is currently sitting at Number 19 for the year ahead. Commenting, Nick Hughes, Managing Director, Kuoni Travel says "It’s great to see the Maldives continuing to hold its well-deserved position as the favourite long-haul destination" "In terms of the major trends we are seeing in long-haul travel, the most apparent is the shift towards tailor making. During the past two years the tailor made share of our total business has grown by approximately 50% and is being requested on an increasing basis. Kuoni has long been recognised for its ability to personalise holidays on a very individual basis for our clients and it is this skill, supported by our in-depth knowledge, careful selection of product and excellent customer service that we believe will set us apart moving into the future, as the leading provider of top quality tailor made holidays" For further press information on Kuoni, and copies of the long-haul report, please contact Kuoni media relations. Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:35:52 GMT /news/view/1