Travel agents from leading travel agencies from India arrived in the Maldives by invitation from Maldives Marketing and Public Relation Corporations (MMPRC / Visit Maldives) for a familiarisation trip. The team will be staying in the Maldives from 16th to 22nd July 2022. This trip is conducted with the aim to maintain the Maldives’ position as the top-of-the-mind destination in the Indian market.

The team consists of professionals from the media outlets which includes I’m Travel Agent, MakeMyTrip, Weldon Travels, Blueduck Holidays, and Trawell Story. The team is hosted at Grand Park Kodhipparu, Crossroads Maldives and Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa where they are experiencing the world-renowned Maldivian hospitality, unique experiences, and different cuisines at their host properties.

The purpose of this trip is to create awareness in the Indian market about how the Maldives has recovered as a destination after the pandemic and the unique products and experiences on offer for visitors. The team will be able to market Maldives’ holidays with more precision and dedication after experiencing our products and service standards for themselves. This is the target we aim to achieve with our familiarisation trips for travel agents across the world.

The trip is forecasted to increase arrival figures and bookings from India to the Maldives. So far this year, MMPRC has held a destination e-learning campaign with 2HUB, influencer familiarisation trips, and celebrity familiarisation trips. We have also taken part in leading fairs such as OTM 2022, Satte 2022, TTF, Maldives roadshow in India and followed by our participation at MILT Congress 2022. There are two digital campaigns ongoing, with Thomas Cook and PickyourTrail, and a promotion on Vistara Inflight magazine. There are several other marketing and advertising activities in the pipeline for this market for this year.

As of 29th June 2022, India is the leading source market for the Maldives this year with over 119,967 tourists visiting the destination from this market. India contributed 14.8% to the market share from the total 809,603 arrivals recorded to the Maldives during this period. India was also the largest market in 2021 with over 278,740 travellers and a market share of 22.6%. Similarly, India was the largest market in 2020 with an arrival figure of 62,960 and a market share of 11.3%.

MMPRC carried out 260 different marketing activities in 22 global markets last year, including fairs, roadshows, familiarisation trips, marketing campaigns, webinars, and interviews. The greatest testament to the success of these activities came late last year, as the Maldives secured the title of ‘World’s Leading Destination’ (among several other accolades) at the 2021 World Travel Awards, globally recognised as the hallmark of industry excellence. This is the second consecutive year that the Maldives had successfully earned this prestigious title, a shining testimony of the trust placed in the ‘magic of Maldivian hospitality’ by travellers from all over the globe.