Visit Maldives takes part in ITB Berlin, one of the leading travel and trade shows in the world from 09th to 12th March 2021. The event is held virtually for the first time ever this year, due to the ongoing covid-19 situation. 

The four-day event presents the opportunity to network with stakeholders from all over the world and manage appointments on the platform with participants and establish new business connections through B2B meetings. It also provides a platform to maintain and strengthen destination presence and promote the Maldives as a safe haven to travel during this challenging period. A total of 15 companies and 27 participants are participating alongside the destination in this event

Additionally, Visit Maldives will host a live press conference during the event on 10th March 2021. The panel will consist of Dr. Abdulla Mausoom, Minister of Tourism and Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed, Managing Director of Visit Maldives, highlighting the efforts to promote the destination as a safe haven for travelers and the geography of the destination.

To further enhance the visibility of the destination, banners on the ITB Berlin website and social media posts from the official ITB Berlin accounts promoted the participation of the Maldives one week prior to the event. An article on Maldives as an ideal destination for safe travels was shared on the official ITB Berlin e-news website with the destination also listed amongst the official sponsors & partners.

Despite the global pandemic, Maldives has welcomed a total of 555,494 travelers in 2020 and over 190,000 travellers till February 2021. Amongst the many activities planned for the remainder of the year includes, social  media campaigns, joint marketing campaigns with global stakeholders, familiarization trips and visibility campaigns. Several marketing activities and strategies have also been shifted to digital platforms in order to promote the destination whilst adapting to the evolving situation

Other initiatives were introduced to further enhance the destination presence such as the Maldives Border Miles program. This was launched on 01st January 2021 by Maldives Immigration as the world’s first tier-based travel loyalty programme. It is expected to provide a considerable boost for the Maldives tourism as an added advantage when promoting the destination. Tourists are also eligible for the “Allied Inbound” package launched by Allied Insurance Company in association with the Ministry of Tourism. The package consists of two options which covers medical charges, isolation facility charges, emergency medical transportation charges and interment charges following a positive diagnosis for COVID-19 of a tourist during their stay in Maldives.