Visit Maldives Corporation (VMC) and Qatar Airways have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand joint destination promotion and strengthen the Maldives’ reach across key international source markets, as Qatar Airways prepares to increase its capacity to the Maldives from next month.

The increased capacity will further strengthen connectivity between the Maldives and Qatar Airways’ global network, complementing the new cooperation framework between the two organisations to support destination promotion, travel trade engagement and tourism growth.

The MoU was signed during Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2026 by Abdulla Yasir, CEO & Managing Director of Visit Maldives Corporation, and Hendrik Abraham Du Preez, Vice President, Africa & Global Leisure Sales at Qatar Airways.

The signing was attended by Dr. Abdulla Niyaz, Minister of State for Tourism and Civil Aviation; Abdulla Ghiyas Riyaz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Visit Maldives Corporation; Ahmed Farih Mohamed, Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of the Republic of Maldives in the United Arab Emirates; and Sabeeha Ahmed, Chief Operating Officer of Visit Maldives Corporation.

Under the MoU, VMC and Qatar Airways will collaborate on destination promotion across mutually agreed markets, bringing together airline reach, travel trade engagement and joint marketing initiatives to support demand for travel to the Maldives.

The cooperation will include destination marketing, familiarisation initiatives, trade engagement and other promotional opportunities across Qatar Airways' global network spanning six continents, supporting VMC's efforts to maintain strong visibility for the Maldives across established and emerging markets.

“Partnerships with international airlines allow us to take the Maldives directly into the markets and networks where travel decisions are being made,” said Abdulla Yasir, CEO & Managing Director of Visit Maldives Corporation. “Through this collaboration with Qatar Airways, we aim to strengthen our engagement with the travel trade, reach new audiences and create further opportunities for tourism growth.”

The MoU supports Visit Maldives Corporation's broader strategy of working with airline and travel industry partners to strengthen market access, diversify tourism demand and connect destination promotion with international distribution networks.