(No Like Yet)
Published on : Tuesday, September 24, 2019
The managing director of MMPRC, Thoyyib Mohamed, recently in a press conference said that it was the perfect time for Maldives to venture into the niche markets such as MICE tourism. “We are working with a consultant to form strategy to target the MICE, sports and culture tourism in 2020,” he said.
Talking about the recent measures to promote local tourism in the island, Thoyyib said: “Apart from conducting fruitful marketing seminars for the local island tourism business, we have also cut down the participation cost for the smaller businesses and we are also waiving off fees to encourage their participation. Besides, we have marketed the product of Maldives tourism at 15 fairs in 12 markets and have also held five road shows in 13 markets. 12 joint promotion programmes, two global campaigns and several foreign media FAM trips have also been organised. Also, 11 public relation firms have been promoting the island in their respective markets.”
Thoyyib attributed the growth in the Maldives tourism market to the political stability, cooperative marketing efforts and increase in the tourism industry properties.
The number of tourists has soared up in Maldives in recent years. As per the latest figures available with the tourism department, the island destination has seen a 19.7 per cent increase in the number of travellers from Middle East only in the region. From Gulf Airlines to Emirates, all are launching more and more flights into the region. Etihad Airways is now going to operate a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on its daily morning service from Abu Dhabi to the city while the Gulf Air started its third Airbus. The Emirates is also providing regular flight service by its latest Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft which is fitted with the Game Changer First Class suites.