Visit Maldives has participated in a session conducted by Questex Travel, USA to focus back on travel and share the destination products information to the USA travel trade. The Maldives dedicated session, “Pivoting back to travel” was held on 15th December 2020. The objective of this virtual event was to connect with industry experts and peers to share knowledge, interact with them and to gain exposure among the high-qualified travel audience, and to establish Maldives brand and generate leads in the USA market This event was attended by key pioneers of travel and trade professionals including travel operators and travel agents. Latest information about the destination and insight on the destination products were shared through a video presentation. The Maldives dedicated session included a speaking opportunity and live Q&A session to interact with the audience. This session was attended by an experienced cast of trade professionals.

This campaign will aid in marketing the destination as a safe haven for travelers and promoting Maldives as the most preferred holiday destination for US travellers. Furthermore, the unique geographical formation of the destination and the safety measures that have been put in place for the safety of travellers were shared during the session.

The Managing Director of Visit Maldives, Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed, interacted with the audience through a video message. In his message, he highlighted the safety measures that are put in place across the country for the safety of tourists and staff working in the tourism industry, to ensure that tourists have an enjoyable vacation in the Maldives. Moreover, he stressed on the opening of Maldives border for all international tourists with 30-days on arrival free visa given to all tourists and the introduction of split-stay to encourage tourists to stay for a longer period of time.

Over the years, Maldives has been a preferred long-haul destination by US travelers. After reopening the Maldives border on 15th July, a total of 16,754 tourists from the US had arrived by the end of November, making the US the fourth largest arrival market to Maldives.

Visit Maldives is carrying out several activities in key markets to promote the destination. Over 412 different types of marketing activities have been carried out in 22 global markets. Among these 314 activities were carried out during this pandemic as part of the crisis recovery plan; some of these include activities such as the Facebook live event ‘Sun will shine again”, Rediscover Maldives Webinar series and global campaign with CNN and Skyscanner. Furthermore, the introductions of the Maldives Border Miles and Allied Inbound Travel Insurance program is an additional boost and advantages to promote Maldives.