India was the largest source of business travelers to the Maldives last year, according to the latest Maldives Visitor Survey released by the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.

The survey found that 55 percent of visitors from India traveled to the Maldives for business purposes, the highest proportion among all source markets.

The United States ranked second, with business travelers accounting for 49 percent of arrivals, while Germany and Spain shared third place at 41 percent each.

The findings also showed that professionals and entrepreneurs continue to dominate the Maldives' visitor profile.

Professionals and private business owners accounted for 32 percent of all arrivals last year, while business owners and managers made up another 26 percent.

Together, these groups represented 58 percent of all international visitors.

Technical workers and technicians comprised 8 percent of tourists, while service and sales employees, administrative staff, and retirees each accounted for 6 percent of surveyed visitors.

According to the Tourism Ministry, the figures reinforce the Maldives' strong appeal among professionals, executives, and high-income travelers, in addition to its reputation as a premier leisure destination.

Tourism statistics show the Maldives welcomed 1,180,195 visitors so far this year.

Of those, 9,638 traveled to the country for business-related purposes, highlighting the continued importance of corporate and professional travel to the nation's tourism sector.