MALE, May 27 (Xinhua) -- More than half a million tourists have arrived in the Maldives in the first quarter of this year, with China being the leading market, local media reported on Sunday.

A total of 539,816 travelers arrived from January to April, which is a 12.7 percent jump from last year's 478,827 tourists who arrived during the same period.

According to statistics, a total of 87,632 Chinese travelers have visited the Maldives from January through April, which is a lead of 16 percent, followed by Italy which saw a 9 percent growth, both Britain and Germany with a 8 percent growth and Russia with a 6 percent growth.

The Maldives government last week said it has planned a number of events to promote the destination globally and increase the number of tourist arrivals in 2018.

The Maldives welcomed a record 1.3 million tourists last year after the government fell short of reaching a target of 1.5 million during the past two years.