In order to maintain destination presence and promote Maldives as a safe haven across the Swiss market, Visit Maldives has successfully concluded a joint webinar with Qatar Airways today. The main objective of the webinar was to educate travel trade on the latest updates of the destination and maintain the destination presence. The webinar highlighted information on the destination and provided the latest information regarding resumption of Qatar Airways flight routes to Maldives via Switzerland.

The information provided to the travel trade highlighted that the Maldives is one of the safest destinations to travel during this time due to the unique geographic isolation of the islands, the one-island-one-resort concept together with the stringent health and safety measures in place. Additionally, information on the latest travel updates, including entry requirements, departure and arrival procedures were shared with the participants. Representatives from Qatar Airways presented connectivity details between the market and destination.A raffle was conducted at the end of the webinar sponsored by Cora Cora Maldives. The lucky winners were awarded a 5 night holiday for 2 on an all-inclusive basis at the premium resort. The webinar concluded with a Q&A session.

This webinar is carried out specifically for the Swiss market following a successful joint webinar held earlier this year in March, with Qatar Airways for the German, Swiss and Austrian markets with a turnout of over 400 agents. Activities in the pipeline for the Swiss market include familiarization trips, print advertisements, digital media advertisements, joint campaigns with industry stakeholders and destination e-learning travel trade partners.

The Swiss market is currently amongst the top source markets of tourist arrivals to the Maldives. Over 5,180 travelers have arrived in Maldives from the Swiss market as of April 2021. With direct connectivity between Male’ and Zurich through Edelweiss airlines, Switzerland plays an important role in achieving pre-pandemic arrival figures. The Maldives welcomed a total of 457،747 travelers as of 3rd June 2021.

Maldives reopened its borders for tourists of all nationalities on 15th July 2020, with rigorous procedures in place to ensure the safety of tourists and tourism workers. Tourists are required to fill an online health declaration form within 24 hours prior to their departure, as well as have a negative PCR test result, conducted 96 hours prior to their departure

The administration of the COVID-19 vaccine was initiated on 1st February 2021 with the government of Maldives set to provide free COVID-19 vaccines to all citizens and residents of the country in the upcoming months. Visit Maldives together with the Ministry of Tourism launched the "I'm Vaccinated" campaign in order to share a positive message regarding the vaccination of staff working in the tourism sector as well as promoting the initiatives undertaken to ensure the Maldives remains one of the safest destinations in the world for travelers. The ultimate target is to make Maldives the destination with the first fully vaccinated tourism sector in the world.