Visit Maldives commences an E-Learning Programme with Turismo & Attualità this July targeting the travel trade of the Italian market. The program will take place for a duration of one year, from it’s launch date of 02nd July 2021.

Turismo & Attualità’s platform is the most widely used e-learning platform in the market and connects to a database of over 30,000 travel agents. The platform will be used to educate the Italian travel trade on different aspects of tourism in the Maldives such as romantic getaways, underwater adventures, sustainable tourism and family holidays. This will be covered over 10 sessions which will be live on the platform. Information of latest updates on travel guidelines, Covid-19 situation and accommodation options will also be provided.

Italian travel trade professionals can log in to the platform, and attend each session which consists of written content, quizzes, images and videos relevant to the particular topic covered. Additionally, the destination will be promoted on the social media pages, monthly newsletters and web pages of Turismo & Attualità for the duration of this programme.

Visit Maldives will be providing complimentary gift packs to the first 10 participants who complete all 10 sessions and a certificate of completion will be issued by Turismo & Attualità for all travel agents who complete the programme.

This campaign is in line with Visit Maldives’ strategy to strengthen destination brand online and use of specialized platforms to promote the hospitality products: resorts, guesthouses, hotels and

liveaboards. It also serves to create greater awareness amongst Italian travel trade for different tourist segments, such as diving, family vacations and sustainable tourism.

Visit Maldives also participated in the BIT Digital Edition 2021 held this May in order to increase brand presence and engagement in the Italian market. Other activities planned for this market include webinars, digital advertisements, joint campaigns with tour operators and familiarization trips for both media contacts and travel trade.

Prior to the pandemic, Italy was one of the top 3 markets to the Maldives, with an arrival figure of 136,343 in 2019. Compared to the figures of the previous year this was a 29.5 percent increase. While these figures declined in 2020 due to travel restrictions enforced by the Italian government to contain the spread of COVID-19, it is expected that once these measures are eased and travel resumes, the market will once again be a key contributor to arrival figures.

In order to build and maintain relationships with the agents active in the market and italian travel trade, Visit Maldives shares a monthly newsletter with these stakeholders. Additionally, updates of vaccination statistics in the Maldives are provided regularly.

On 1st February 2021, Maldives initiated the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, aiming to provide free COVID-19 vaccine to all citizens and residents of Maldives in the upcoming months. To this end, the Ministry of Tourism also launched an initiative to vaccinate people in the tourism sector to further ensure the safety of tourists and industry staff alike. As of 20th June 2021, 315,282 people in the Maldives have received the first dose of the vaccine and 183,373 people have received the second dose. Notably, over 90% of the workers in the tourism industry of the Maldives have also been administered the first dose of the vaccine.

Visit Maldives together with the Ministry of Tourism launched the "I'm Vaccinated" campaign in April to share a positive message regarding the vaccination of staff working in the tourism sector. This campaign celebrates the commitment of various stakeholders to ensure that Maldives becomes the first destination with a fully vaccinated tourism sector as well as promoting the initiatives undertaken to ensure the Maldives remains one of the safest destinations in the world for travelers.