Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu on Tuesday appealed to China to send more tourists to his country amid a diplomatic row with India.

The diplomatic row pertains to remarks by three deputy ministers of the island nation about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media posts that showed him snorkelling during his recent visit to Lakshadweep.

The Maldivian tourism industry has seen a spate of cancellations of reservations made by Indians since the ministers’ remarks, reported PTI. Travel companies in India have also reported a sudden drop in the number of inquiries they typically receive from tourists wanting to visit the Maldives, ANI reported on Monday.

Maldivian minister Maryam Shiuna had reacted to the picture calling Modi a “clown”. “The puppet of Israel Mr Narendra diver with life jacket,” she had said in a social media post, which has now been deleted.

Following an uproar on social media by some Indians, Shiuna and two other ministers – Malsha Shareef and Mahzoom Majid – were suspended on Sunday.

On Tuesday, Muizzu, who is widely seen as sympathetic to Beijing’s interests, said that his government plans to diversify tourism in the Maldives and offer new experiences to tourists, according to a statement posted on his official website.

“Initiatives include a top-tier school of hospitality and exploring sports, medical and cultural tourism,” Muizzu told the Maldives Business Forum in Fujian Province on the second day of his five-day state visit to China. “China was our number one market pre-Covid, and it is my request that we intensify efforts for China to regain this position.”

The travel website EaseMyTrip on Monday said it has suspended bookings for all flights to the island country. The Indian Chamber of Commerce also appealed to Indian tourism and trade associations to “stop promoting Maldives in view of the anti-India feelings expressed by ministers of Maldives”.

Amid this, the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry and the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators have sought rapprochement with New Delhi to avert a “potential adverse impact” on its tourism sector.

Out of the over 17 lakh tourists who visited the Maldives in 2023, nearly 2.1 lakh were Indians, according to the Maldivian tourism ministry. China sent 1.87 lakh tourists to the island nation.

In 2022, the number of Indian visitors in the Maldives stood at 2.4 lakh. The figure was around 2.11 lakh in 2021.

Also read: Why a social media row over Modi’s tweets led to the suspension of three Maldives ministers