Business
Cathay Pacific celebrates five years of Maldives service
Cathay Pacific has celebrated five years of operations in the Maldives.
A special cake cutting ceremony was held Sunday afternoon at the offices of Ace Travels Maldives, the recently appointed General Sales Agent (GSA) for Cathay Pacific in the Maldives. Cathay Pacific’s Regional General Manager for South Asia, Middle East and Africa Mark Sutch, the airline’s Country Lead for Sri Lanka and Maldives Vishnu Rajendran, and its Port Lead in Maldives Harish Kiran along with Mohamed Firaq, the Managing Director of Ace Travels, attended the ceremony.
Mark told journalists that Cathay Pacific would strive to expand its service to the Maldives with additional frequency and seating capacity during the tourist peak season. Through its regional wing Cathay Dragon’s wide network across China, Cathay Pacific would also be able to connect the Maldives to more cities in the island destination’s biggest tourist market, he added.
“We are very elated that in the last five years we have been able to offer quintessential travel experience to our passengers travelling to and from Maldives based on our service ethos – Service Straight from the Heart. We endeavour to continue and enhance the overall travel experience for our customers,” Mark said.
“Owing to our strong network, for our customers from Male we offer seamless connections to Mainland China, Japan and Australia. Maldives is a popular tourist destination and we also see a big influx of inbound tourists from these counties. With the support of our ground handling partners and agencies we are happy to celebrate this milestone and committed to continue to deliver a premium travel experience to our customers at every step.”

Meanwhile, Ace Travels is offering special fares to mark the fifth year anniversary of Cathay Pacific’s service in the Maldives.
Cathay Pacific, which began its service to the Maldives on October 27, 2013, operates a non-stop, four days a week service from Hong Kong International Airport to the Maldives main Velana International Airport. It utilises the Airbus A330-300 aircraft, featuring award-winning fully flat-bed Business Class seats, convenient Premium Economy class seats together with ergonomically designed Economy Class seats.
With a fleet of 146 wide-body aircraft, the flagship carrier of Hong Kong serves 80 destinations (including cargo) in 46 countries and territories on five continents, with a well-developed Asian network. The airline is in the process of getting new A350 jets in an effort to expand its services to destinations such as Washington DC in the US, Cape Town in South Africa and Brussels in Belgium.
Ace Travels Maldives is a joint venture between Inner Maldives Holidays, one of the leading Destination Management Companies (DMCs) in the Maldives, and Aitken Spence Travels, the leading DMC in Sri Lanka. In addition to being the the Passenger Sales Agent (PSA) for SriLankan Airlines and General Sales Agent (GSA) for Scoot, Ace Travels handles several other major airlines and provides hotel packages.
For bookings and special fares, please contact Ace Travels on +960 3006886 / +960 7931334 or email to sales@acetravels.mv.
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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