NDTV Food has featured a special episode on Maldivian gastronomy, expected to reach over 130 million households and 20 million individual users via their mobile app. The show is titled “Food & Flavours from the Sunny Side of Life”.

The programme featured Chef Mohammed Haneef, Chef De Cuisine at Lux* South Ari Atoll. The 20-minute episode provides an introduction to Maldivian cuisine and features popular local dishes such as kandu kukulhu, baraboa mashuni, copy fathu satani, and garudhiya. The episode also details Maldivian food sustainability practices, the health benefits of Maldivian cuisine, outdoor cooking experiences, and the fresh farm-to-fork experience. The chef was also joined by the resort manager of LUX* South Ari Atoll, Mr Masdhooq Saeed, who spoke about the importance of incorporating sustainable practices into the culinary scene. This episode was digitally promoted on NDTV, NDTVfood.com and their social media platforms- YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

NDTV has been a pioneer in news television and digital journalism for more than 25+ years in India. This gastronomy episode will help to maintain destination presence on high-impact channels such as TV. The episode will also help promote the local cuisine and uniqueness of traditional Maldivian flavours to the Indian market who are eager to explore different cuisines.

This activity is aligned with MMPRC’s marketing strategies for the Indian market, crafted with a focus on ambiently strengthening the Maldives brand in all major cities via multiple platforms both online and offline. The strategy involves marketing the various products and segments of tourism that the Maldives caters to. These products and segments are marketed to different audiences including those seeking luxury, romantic or budget travel options from the Indian market.

India was the largest market for the Maldives in 2021 in terms of arrivals, with over 278,740 travellers and a market share of 22.6%. It is the largest source market for the Maldives this year as well - as of October 2022, India is the top source market for the Maldives with over 186,388 arrivals. MMPRC has planned several activities targeting the Indian market to maintain destination visibility including marketing campaigns, fam trips, and participation in major fairs and exhibitions held in this market.

As the national company responsible for marketing the Maldives as a destination abroad, 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.