Visit Maldives conducts a virtual webinar for the Thailand travel trade on 3rd August 2021 in order to promote Maldives as a safe haven for travelers as Maldives prepares to welcome travelers from the Thailand market with the gradual re-opening of Thailand’s borders for international leisure travel.

This is the second webinar conducted in a series of webinars planned by Visit Maldives to strengthen the Maldives brand across the key markets under the theme ‘Connect with Maldives - Your Safe Haven’. The virtual event was held on Visit Maldives’ recently launched virtual platform ‘My Virtual Maldives’. The state-of-the-art platform, representing the beauty of the Maldivian islands, is designed to host virtual roadshows, virtual exhibitions, webinars, and a variety of other virtual events.

The webinar aims to strengthen the relationship between Maldivian tourism industry and the Thailand market and to provide the latest destination information, travel guidelines, and to promote Maldives as one of the leading safest tourist destinations in the world.

Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed, The Managing Director of Visit Maldives, addressed the Thailand travel trade during the exclusive webinar. Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed remarked on the tourism success story of Maldives

amidst the pandemic, the important relationship between the Thailand market and Maldives, and the planned celebrations and excitement for the Golden Jubilee Year of the Maldivian tourism industry.

“It is my deepest hope that travelers from the Southeast Asian market will once again feel the Maldivian sand, sun, and sea. We wish to welcome you all to the beautifully scattered islands of Maldives, a safe haven. “ stated Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed speaking at the webinar.

The Ambassador of Maldives to Thailand, His Excellency Mohamed Jinah, also contributed to the webinar and spoke about the foreign policies and the travel corridors implemented in reopening borders.

Visit Maldives presented an informative destination presentation in both English and Thai languages during the webinar showcasing the breathtaking beauty and allure of the Maldives. The presentation shed light on the four tourism products of Maldives (resorts, guesthouse, liveaboards, hotels) and the unique experiences travelers can have in Maldives such as staying in a private over-water villa, sleeping in a bubble tent on the beach, and diving in bio-diverse hotspots. In addition, the presentation highlighted the safety provided by the natural socially distanced unique geography of Maldives in order to promote Maldives as a safe haven for travelers in the Thailand market.

The webinar provided an important platform for Visit Maldives’ industry partners to showcase their latest products to a wide-reaching travel trade audience in the Thailand market. Atolls World, Sun Siyam Olhuveli Maldives and The Residence Maldives presented the latest information on the unique products and experiences respective to each property.

An impressive 95 travel trade representatives from the Thailand market took part in the exclusive webinar. The session ended with a Q&A in which the Thailand travel trade cleared specific information regarding the destination, the latest travel and health guidelines, COVID-19 situation, and the stringent safety measures in place. The recently initiated ‘I’m Vaccinated’ campaign, launched in order to promote the vaccination drive and make Maldives tourism industry the first fully vaccinated tourism industry in the world, was also discussed during the Q&A session.

During the Q&A session a poll was conducted in regards to the attendees’ travel plans and their preferred travel destination after border reopening. 52% of attendees responded Covid-19 has not affected their decision of where they will travel to, whilst 48% of attendees will limit their travel to short-haul destinations. Additionally, 80% of attendees prefer Maldives as their top travel choice.

Over the years, Maldives has seen a steady growth in terms of tourist arrivals from the Southeast Asian region making it a promising market with great flight connectivity to the Maldives. In 2019 Maldives welcomed over 87,636 tourists from the Southeast Asian market. Despite travel restrictions, Visit Maldives is promoting the destination in the Southeast Asian market to ensure that Maldives remains as a top of the mind destination among travelers and to ensure that Maldives is the most preferred destination for Southeast Asian travelers once borders reopen for leisure travel and travel restrictions are lifted.

Visit Maldives has conducted several campaigns targeting the Southeast Asian market to ensure Maldives remains the top of the mind destination. Thus, Visit Maldives has taken part in Travel Meet Asia - South East Asia, Travel Meet Asia - MICE & Corporate, Antavaya Virtual Travel Fair, IMM Asia Virtual and a Destination Maldives Webinar with the High Commission of Maldives in Singapore & NATAS. In addition, Visit Maldives has conducted promotional activities with Travel+Leisure as well as ‘Have, Halal, Will Travel’ to promote Maldives targeting Muslim travelers.