Visit Maldives welcomes Indian movie star Janani Iyer to the Maldives on a familiarization trip, aiming to showcase the nation as the most-preferred holiday destination for Indian travelers. Janani Iyer – alongside her family – would stay in the Maldives from 28th March to 2nd April 2021 and explore the different types of activities available, providing coverage through her social media platforms.

Janani Iyer is an Indian actress famous for Tamil and Malayalam movies, and has appeared in notable films such as the crime thriller Thegidi and the police drama 7th Day. In addition to her celebrity status, Janani also has more than 4.6 million followers on her social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

In this familiarization trip, Janani and family are hosted by The Residence Maldives Dhigurah, and will experience their signature cuisines, health & wellness offerings, snorkeling, water-sports activities and sunset cruises, alongside the many other unique experiences. These experiences will be shared to her followers during her stay in Maldives.

Maldives has been one of the most preferred destinations among Indian celebrities within the past few months. Bollywood celebrities such as Taapsee Pannu, Varun Dhawan, Tiger Shroff, Disha Patani and Neha Dhupia are among some of the celebrities who spent their vacation in the island nation. The exposure from celebrity vacations have greatly increased the awareness within India about Maldives as one of the most preferred and safe destinations.

The month of March continues to be fruitful for the Maldives in the Indian market as the very first offline events in India were also kicked off on 22nd March 2021. This included a high-level press conference  followed by a Roadshow in Delhi hosted by Visit Maldives. In addition to this, Maldives was also showcased at the South Asia's Travel & Tourism Exchange (SATTE) in Delhi from 24-26th March 2021.

Maldives reopened its borders on 15th July 2020 with stringent safety measures to ensure the safety for all tourists and the citizens, and to utilize the naturally distanced nature of the islands for all tourists. Additionally, the COVID-19 vaccination program has been commenced across the Maldives, and the country’s tourism is recovering with impressive results in 2021. With regards to the Indian market, there are several activities ongoing and planned to promote Maldives as a safe haven for travelers. Visit Maldives is currently collaborating with Wedding Sutra, Thomas Cook, and MakeMyTrip, and is in discussion to conduct other similar activities to promote the destination within the region.

Statistics published by the Ministry of Tourism reveals that India is currently the top source market for tourism in the Maldives. The latest statistics published by the Ministry of Tourism indicates that as of 24th March 2021 Maldives welcomed a total of 269,504 travelers with an arrival figure of 64,059 travelers from India. Visit Maldives plans to continue this momentum of growth by conducting several marketing activities in India.