MALE, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Tourist arrivals to the Maldives rose 19 percent in February compared to the same period of last year, despite a string of travel advisories issued during the ongoing state of emergency, local media reported Monday.

According to statistics released by the Maldivian Tourism Ministry, 144,286 tourists visited the holiday islands in February, up 19.2 percent from the same month last year.

China remains the leading market with the most number of tourist arrivals with 33,506 visitors in February. This is a 38 percent rise compared to February last year, the ministry said.

Italy was the second largest market with 13,962 visitors, while the UK had 11,362 visitors to the Maldives in February.

Europe made the biggest contribution to Maldives' tourism industry during the past two months with 54.4 percent of the total visitors.

The Maldives welcomed a record 1.3 million tourists last year.