The Managing Director of Visit Maldives, Mr Thoyyib Mohamed addressed the opening press conference held during the International Media Market. Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed shared the successful recovery story of Maldives during the pandemic, changes observed in key markets, activities conducted by Visit Maldives, how Maldives managed to stay open and the future of the Maldivian tourism industry moving forward.

“We believe our success is attributable to the stringent safety measures in place, the natural socially-distanced islands and the hard work and effort of all stakeholders in the tourism industry and health authorities. From the pandemics onset, The Maldivian government placed an utmost importance on the health, safety, and wellbeing of travelers and locals alike.” stated Mr Thoyyib Mohamed, speaking at the press conference.

International Media Marketplace (IMM) Virtual Asia 2021, held from 16th until 17th June 2021, provided the opportunity to connect with key media, share the latest destination information and travel guidelines, strengthen brand presence, as well as promote Maldives as a safe haven.

IMM Virtual Asia 2021 is the travel industry's only global media networking event connecting journalists and PR professionals. The event invites delegates from travel and tourism brands to take part in meetings with top travel journalists as well as participate in press conferences, panel sessions and breakout networking sessions.

Visit Maldives conducted meetings with renowned media outlets such as BBC, National Geographic and The Straits Times among many others journalists to share latest destination updates and conduct interviews.

As of April 2021, Maldives has welcomed 2,742 arrivals from South East Asia and 93,742 arrivals from South Asia. Despite travel restrictions, Visit Maldives continues to maintain destination presence, strengthen brand visibility and promote Maldives as a safe haven destination in the Asian market. So far this year, Visit Maldives took part in the first physical event in India for SATTE 2021 followed by a press conference and conducted a roadshow in Delhi, India. Moreover, Visit Maldives concluded a campaign with Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia and Have Halal, Will Travel promoting Maldives as a muslim friendly destination.

Maldives reopened its borders for tourists of all nationalities on 15th July 2020, with rigorous procedures in place to ensure the safety of tourists and tourism workers. Tourists are required to fill an online health declaration form within 24 hours prior to their departure, as well as have a negative PCR test result, conducted 96 hours prior to their departure.

The administration of the COVID-19 vaccine was initiated on 1st February 2021 with the government of Maldives set to provide free COVID-19 vaccines to all citizens and residents of the country in the upcoming months. Visit Maldives together with the Ministry of Tourism launched the "I'm Vaccinated" campaign in order to share a positive message regarding the vaccination of staff working in the tourism sector as well as promoting the initiatives undertaken to ensure the Maldives remains one of the safest destinations in the world for travelers. The ultimate target is to make Maldives the destination with the first fully vaccinated tourism sector in the world.