Interest in Maldives amongst Indian travellers have increased significantly making it one of the five most popular outbound destinations in India, data from Google showed.

Google India has recently revealed the top travel search trends for summer 2017, based on searches conducted by Indians between the months of February to April this year. Based on YoY growth, searches for the Maldives has seen a 28.3 percent rise, the data showed.

Other destinations that made it to the list include Nepal, Bali, Bhutan and Singapore.

India has become a major emerging source market for the Maldives tourism industry.

Official figures show that 66,955 tourists arrived in Maldives from its closest neighbour last year, a 27.9 percent increase from the 52,368 Indian travellers that chose the Maldives in 2015.

That growth is expected to continue this year as well, as the number of Indian tourists that visited the Maldives recorded a 21.1 percent increase in the first three months to reach 17,156 compared to 14,171 in the same period last year.

Maldives has also become a sought after destination by Bollywood stars.