Visit Maldives hosts several events on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) on 17th May 2021. The two events “The Maldives Media Meet” and “Connect with Maldives, your safe haven” were hosted for the Middle Eastern Media and the Travel Trade respectively. 

‘Maldives: Media Meet” press event was attended by key travel trade media of the UAE and Middle Eastern region. Speakers at the event were Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed, Managing Director of Visit Maldives, H.E. Ms. Aminath Shabeena, Ambassador of the Republic of the Maldives to UAE, and Ms. Fathimath Afra, Deputy Chief Marketing Officer of Visit Maldives.

During the Maldives Media Meet, key updates from the Maldives were shared. Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed addressed on the topics of how Maldives is tackling the pandemic and strategic opening of borders for the revival of tourism, updates of health and safety measures, “I’m Vaccinated” campaign to vaccinate all tourism industry employees, as well as the future initiatives such as the celebration of 50 years of Tourism in the Maldives were related. 

H. E. Aminath Shabeena talked on the angle of foreign policy and updated on the ongoing discussion between the two governments on establishing a travel corridor which is anticipated to happen in the near future. 

Marketing challenges and recovery strategies during the pandemic, plans for the Middle Eastern and GCC markets were revealed by Ms. Fathimath Afra. Furthermore, plans for important activities in the pipeline such as the World Expo 2020 to be held in Dubai in October and the Explore Maldives Live, to bring Maldives experiences on livestream for the Middle Eastern Market on the My Virtual Maldives Platform were highlighted. 

Event ended with a question and answer session in which there was a lot of interest shown by the journalists towards the destination and answers were given to queries on the travel information and travel corridor between UAE and the Maldives. 

The press conference was followed by a roadshow titled ‘Connect with Maldives; Your Safe Haven’.  The one-day roadshow targeting Dubai based Travel Agents and Tour Operators created the opportunity for Maldives tourism industry partners to connect with over 50 key travel trade partners from the Middle Eastern market.  

10 Maldives tourism industry partners representing resorts and DMCs participated at the event. The participants had the opportunity to showcase their properties, products and highlight the unique experiences available at each of the respective properties as well as generate new business leads and engage in one-on-one networking opportunities.  

Visit Maldives related information about the destination and the four products; resorts, guest houses, liveaboards and hotels. Furthermore, information was given out during the speed networking session on the latest information for travel to the Maldives and why the Maldives remains a safe destination for travel at this time due to its geographic formation of isolated islands, the one island one resort concept and the stringent health and safety measures in place. 

During the evening, popular travel blogger and influencer from the Middle East, Ms. Sana Chikhalia shared her experiences of holidaying in the Maldives and talked about the beauty of the destination. 

Attendees had the opportunity to take part in a raffle and win a free holiday at Sun Siyam Olhuveli resort.

In addition, the much anticipated ‘Tales of Maldives’ campaign was launched by the Managing Director of VIsit Maldives Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed. The Tales of Maldives is part of the Story of Maldives Campaign which is an integrated marketing campaign to help kickstart a journey towards achieving a powerful brand resonance and identity. The aim of the campaign is to present creative, engaging and memorable content that will leave a long lasting footprint of the Maldives on the travellers’ minds, ultimately helping create a deep rooted emotional connection and love for the Maldives, culture, folklore, natural assets and experiences.

These were the first  in-person events held in the market since the onset of the pandemic. During each of these events, Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed thanked the media and travel trade respectively for the support they have shown to the Maldives during the most challenging times. 

In line with the objective to maintain brand visibility and engage travel trade, these events will bring a positive impact to the UAE market and other markets in the GCC region as travel restrictions ease. These activities are conducted by Visit Maldives as part of the recovery action plan for the Middle Eastern market.