The island nation of Maldives offers visitors a variety of activities, such as fishing, snorkeling and scuba diving. It has become one of the most popular destinations for Chinese travelers.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to the Maldives (in 2014) and encouraged Chinese tourists to travel in the Maldives, which has produced a positive effect on local tourism development," says Mohamed Haris, acting managing director of the country's tourism authority.

Roughly 323,000 Chinese tourists visited in 2015's first 10 months.

The number totaled 360,000 in 2014, accounting for one-third of inbound travelers, up 9.6 percent over the previous year. The archipelago's authorities hope to reach half a million in 2016. It announced big prizes for this year's first and 500,000th Chinese tourist.

The Maldives was the third-most popular island destination for travelers who booked through China's biggest online travel agency, Ctrip, during last National Day Golden Week holiday, after Thailand's Phuket and South Korea's Jeju.

The travel agency reported a five-fold increase in bookings on Nov 11, a day after the Maldives lifted its state of emergency declared following an alleged assassination attempt on the country's president. The state of emergency was initially declared for 30 days but lifted after just a week.

More than 2,000 individual visitors signed up for December visits through Ctrip.

"We ensure that our tourists are well taken care of because they're our bread and butter," Maldivian ambassador to China Mohamed Faisal says.

"It's like business as usual."