Visit Maldives takes part in ILTM North America 2021. The event was held in Riviera Maya, Mexico from 20th-23rd September 2021. ILTM North America is an invitation-only annual event, where top producing agents and advisors from USA, Canada and Mexico meet the world’s most exclusive travel experiences. 60 worldwide exhibitors and North American buyers from over 153 cities will take part in the event.

Exhibiting at ILTM North America brings in the unique opportunity to magnify Visit Maldives presence in the region by providing unique access to new contacts as much as fortifying the relationship with existing ones. During the fair, Visit Maldives aims to achieve major growth in arrivals with the momentum that has been achieved during the last years and strengthen Maldivian brand presence in the North American market.

Taking part in the fair is in line with the strategies for the US market to create exposure and advertise focused segments of the destination. There are several other activities in the pipeline for the US market this year such as a campaign with Worth Magazine, familiarization trips, participation in other physical fairs, joint marketing campaigns with stakeholders and taking part in virtual events.

Steady growth has been observed from the US market, ending the year 2020 with 19,759 arrivals ranking as the 8th source market of tourist arrivals. As of 15th September 2021, 32,976 travelers arrived from the United States, ranking the market as the 4th highest in terms of tourist arrivals for the year.

The tourism industry of the Maldives has shown remarkable resilience in the face of the pandemic, welcoming a total of 555,494 travelers in 2020 and over an impressive 817,387 travelers so far in 2021. The commencement of a nationwide vaccination program, increased flight connections, and the gradual opening of major markets, provide Visit Maldives the opportunity to further promote the destination with global campaigns in association with key stakeholders in the industry.