Business
Vacations Expo wraps up with overwhelming support
Vacations Expo 2017 wrapped up Saturday evening as almost double the number of people from last year visited this year’s edition.
The annual expo, organised by leading local event management company Highrise, kicked off Thursday with 40 exhibitors, including local Islamic pilgrimage agents such as Musafireen and Hajj Corporation, local tour operators Kraken, Inner Maldives Holidays and Voyages Maldives, local guesthouses Vinorva, Reveries Diving Village, Kaani Hotels, Plumeria and Pebbles Inn, and local airlines Maldivian and Flyme.
Sri Lanka-based Kingsbury Hotel and Amaya Resorts, and Indian travel agent Holiday Kerala were also exhibitors.
Lanka Hospital and Durdans Hospital — leading multi-speciality hospitals in Sri Lanka that are popular amongst thousands of Maldivians that travel to the neighbouring country for medial treatment — and Thailand-based Bangkok Hospital also showcased their products.

Visitors at a stall at the Vacations Expo 2017. PHOTO/ MIHAARU
An official from Highrise told Maldives Insider that the expo, which was held at the National Art Gallery in capital Male, was attended by more than 3,800 visitors. It was almost double the number of visitors that attended the first edition of the expo held last year, he added.
“The brand has been well-received by the industry as well as the public,” the official said.
Exhibitors also offered exciting prizes for the daily ‘visit and win’ lucky draws. The prizes included return air tickets to destinations such as Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi and Turkey, and complimentary stays at leading guesthouses across the country.

A lucky draw winner receives the prize at the Vacations Expo 2017. PHOTO/ MIHAARU
For the second year running, the Vacations Expo was sponsored by Inner Maldives Holidays, with MV Hotels serving as the Associate Partner. Unima Grand signed up as the Hospitality Partner, Amana Takaful Maldives as the Travel Insurance Partner, Ooredoo Maldives as the Telecom Partner, M7 Maldives as the Printing Partner, and Absolute Security and Advance Protection Private Limited as the Security Partner.
Maldives Insider and The Island Chief were assigned travel media partners, while local daily Mihaaru signed up as the news media partner and state broadcaster Public Service Media’s (PSM) Television Maldives (TVM) as the official TV partner.
Meanwhile, state tourism promotion company Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) and Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) gave their endorsement. Tourism Authority of Thailand also participated in the expo.
The annual travel trade show brings together leading travel companies, hoteliers, airlines, tour operators, travel agents, online travel companies, liveaboards, cruises, dive operators and other travel marketers under one roof. Exhibitors can display various attractive travel packages and services.
The expo’s organiser Highrise has successfully delivered several local and international events, including Maldives Travel Awards, Maldives Film Awards, Maldives Living Expo and Sounds of Maldives.
Business
Feydhoo Hall opens at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives as new event space
Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, has announced the opening of Feydhoo Hall, a landmark event venue at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives, redefining the possibilities for meetings, celebrations, and destination events in the Maldives.
Designed to bring scale, flexibility, and creativity to island gatherings, Feydhoo Hall represents a bold step forward in positioning the Maldives as a dynamic destination for conferences, weddings, and large-scale social occasions.
Feydhoo Hall offers a versatile event complex designed to accommodate a wide range of gatherings, from corporate meetings and conferences to weddings and social celebrations.

At its core is the 390 sqm Main Hall, capable of hosting:
- Up to 300 guests in theatre-style setup
- Up to 240 guests for dining and banquet-style events
- Up to 200 guests for cocktail-style receptions
- Up to 144 guests in cluster-round configuration
Enhancing the flexibility of the venue are additional dedicated spaces, including:
- A 110 sqm Veranda Terrace, ideal for welcome receptions, breakout sessions, and pre-event gatherings, accommodating up to 100 guests for cocktail-style events.
- A spacious 1,000 sqm Lawn Space, perfect for large-scale outdoor celebrations, destination weddings, and open-air events, accommodating up to 400 guests for cocktail receptions and up to 350 guests for dining setups.
- The 55 sqm Ekugai Meeting Room, designed for smaller meetings and executive sessions, accommodating up to 30 guests in theatre or dining setup and 24 guests in cluster-round format.
Together, these integrated spaces create a seamless indoor-outdoor event experience, allowing planners to design dynamic and personalised event journeys.
True to the dusitD2 brand’s lifestyle-driven philosophy, Feydhoo Hall introduces a fresh approach to meetings and events — where productivity meets creativity in an inspiring island setting.
The venue offers flexible meeting formats designed to suit different event needs, including:
- Half-Day Meeting Package (4 hours) — ideal for focused sessions, executive meetings, and creative workshops.
- Full-Day Meeting Package (8 hours) — designed for immersive conferences, extended workshops, and large-scale corporate gatherings.
These thoughtfully structured packages provide planners with the flexibility to create impactful and seamless experiences, whether hosting intimate strategy sessions or dynamic full-day events.

Located just seven minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport, dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives combines accessibility with vibrant lifestyle energy, offering event planners and guests a rare balance between convenience and tropical escape.
With the introduction of Feydhoo Hall, the resort strengthens its position as a versatile destination — not only for leisure travellers but also for international conferences, creative retreats, luxury weddings, and large-scale social celebrations seeking something refreshingly different in the Maldives.
Business
BBM expands retail presence with new Hulhumalé outlet
Bestbuy Maldives (BBM) opened a new wholesale store in Hulhumalé Phase 2 on Monday.
The outlet is located on the ground floor of Lot 20286, Nirolhu Magu, and is intended to improve access to BBM’s imported goods for residents of Hulhumalé Phase 2 and for businesses operating in the area.
According to the company, the opening forms part of its plan to expand services closer to customers in line with population growth in Hulhumalé.
With the opening of the new store, BBM’s full range of imported and distributed products will be available at the Hulhumalé Phase 2 location. These include consumer goods from international brands such as Lifebuoy, Vaseline and Unilever.
The store will also stock wholesale food products from brands including Daily, Cavin’s and Redman.
BBM has supplied goods to resorts, hotels and retail outlets across the Maldives for several years.
Action
Ataraxis Grand & Spa hosts integrated work-and-dive corporate retreat in Fuvahmulah
Ataraxis Grand & Spa recently hosted a week-long, closed corporate offsite in Fuvahmulah for a US-based artificial intelligence company, highlighting the island’s growing suitability for integrated work-and-experience retreats. The retreat brought a group of 36 international professionals to the property, which was reserved exclusively for the programme.
Designed as a private company offsite, the stay combined structured daily work sessions with guided diving and beginner-friendly surf experiences, creating a balanced format that blended focused collaboration with physical reset.

A notable component of the programme was dive training and certification. During the retreat, 17 participants completed their Open Water certification, while a further six undertook the Advanced Open Water course, with training and dives scheduled alongside work sessions as part of the integrated itinerary.
Throughout the week, participants worked on-site using dedicated shared spaces supported by reliable high-speed internet, allowing meetings, informal collaboration and scheduled activities to take place within a single, uninterrupted environment. This setup enabled teams to move seamlessly between work periods and organised ocean activities without leaving the property.

Fuvahmulah’s natural and operational advantages formed a key part of the retreat’s appeal. As one of the Maldives’ largest inhabited islands, it offers immediate access to pelagic dive sites, internationally recognised shark diving and surf breaks suitable for instruction, alongside the infrastructure required to support extended group stays.

The offsite reflects a growing preference among technology and knowledge-sector teams for small-scale retreats that prioritise concentrated work environments and team cohesion over traditional conference formats. Such programmes typically involve longer stays and higher per-capita spend, aligning with sustainable, quality-driven tourism models.
The retreat also demonstrates how locally operated properties such as Ataraxis Grand & Spa are supporting this shift by delivering unified environments where accommodation, workspaces, connectivity and curated experiences operate as a single programme rather than separate services.

As organisations continue to explore alternative formats for strategy sessions, team resets and creative offsites, Ataraxis Grand & Spa’s experience positions Fuvahmulah as an increasingly viable destination for integrated corporate retreats.
Ataraxis Grand & Spa offers work-and-dive retreat programmes in Fuvahmulah that combine accommodation, dedicated workspaces, high-speed connectivity and organised diving and surfing.

Further information on retreat formats and dive-inclusive stays is available via the Ataraxis Grand & Spa website.
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