Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/Visit Maldives) has successfully secured the title of World’s Leading Tourist Board 2022 at the 29th World Travel Awards. MMPRC competed against 28 other tourist boards for this prestigious title. This is the first time in Maldives’ history that we have achieved the prestigious title of World’s Leading Tourist Board, a shining affirmation of the hard work and dedication of MMPRC over the past year in continuing to market and maintain the Maldives in the top tier of the global tourism industry. The Maldives also secured the preeminent award for a tourism destination at the WTA, securing the title of World’s Leading Destination for the third year in a row.

The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director (CEO & MD) of MMPRC, Mr Thoyyib Mohamed, accepted the award on behalf of MMPRC at the ceremony held at Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Oman, late Friday evening. Speaking at the ceremony, Thoyyib stated that it is truly an honour to win the prestigious title of World's Leading Destination for the third year in a row.

“This year is our Golden Jubilee of Tourism in the Maldives, and I couldn't have asked for a better achievement to mark 50 years of welcoming visitors to our shores. This award is thanks to the guidance of our government, the support of our partners, and the hard work of the tourism industry as a whole. And of course, our visitors- we are blessed that people from around the world love the Maldives so much. This is also the first year that MMPRC, also known as Visit Maldives, secured the title of the World's Leading Tourist Board. It feels like an affirmation of the hard work of our team over these past few years, pushing through the toughest global crises of recent times. Thank you to everyone for voting for the Maldives, and I hope to welcome you soon to the Sunny Side of Life.”

This year has been one of the most interesting years for global tourism. Most countries have now re-opened their borders for international travel following the Covid-19 pandemic, and have accordingly initiated extensive campaigns to revive tourism in their respective countries. MMPRC continued our efforts with no hesitation, even through the difficulties posed due to the Russia-Ukraine war putting a damper on some of our top and emerging markets. We adapted swiftly, shifting our attention to other potential top sources, such as the Middle Eastern, Nordic, and Indian markets.

MMPRC has already conducted a total of 149 activities in 22 global markets over the first three quarters of 2022, targeting the travel trade and consumers alike, with a reach of over 8.6 billion. One of the key focuses of our strategies was to maintain brand visibility in the global markets. In addition to promoting the Maldives as a premier luxury destination with various affordable options and diverse experiences, our messaging was clearly communicated to build confidence in the destination. We augmented this with our Tourism Golden Jubilee messaging, to veer visitors towards the celebratory mood in the Maldives tourism industry this year, to great success. The success of our marketing efforts is reflected in our arrival figures, as we close in on achieving 2022’s target of welcoming 1.6 million visitors.

Since the beginning of this year, we aligned our marketing campaigns towards promoting experiential tourism, based on emerging travel trends, coinciding with the introduction of Homestay tourism in the Maldives. We also launched a series of books titled ‘Tales of Maldives’ to share some of the unique stories and folklore native to the Maldives, as part of our effort to branch out and expand our segments, such as cultural and experiential tourism. We concentrated on marketing initiatives that promote the natural beauty of the Maldives along with events to network with our industry partners and get their feedback on the best ways to promote the Maldives further as a destination with consistent messaging, to work towards our mutual goal of maintaining the Maldives as a leading destination. The Tourism Marketeers Evening 2022 that we hosted late this year is one of the many joint activities that we conduct with industry stakeholders in order to reach our common goals.

Our team of 69 staff at MMPRC is majority female, and we are proud to say that women hold several key positions within the upper management. Regardless of the small size of our team compared to those of other tourist boards that competed with us this year, our work has been effective enough for representatives from the largest nations to consider us, Visit Maldives, the de facto benchmark for decisive, dynamic, and efficient destination marketing. It is a pleasure to have seen the fruit of the hard work this year, as the Maldives once again won the World’s Leading Destination Award, for the third consecutive year, in a moment of triumph for our entire nation.

We are humbled that visitors and tourism organisations around the world have recognised the hard work, diligence, and dedication with which we have promoted the Maldives through some of the most uncertain times of the modern age. This year is the first time the Maldives has won the title of World’s Leading Tourist Board. We could not be prouder and happier with this achievement for our nation. Thank you for voting for us as the World’s Leading Tourist Board. We will continue to diversify, adapt to shifting travel trends, and lead the way to even more success and accolades for the Sunny Side of Life.