Business
First Visit Maldives Travel Expo kicks off in Malaysia
First ever Visit Maldives Travel Expo kicked off in Malaysia on Friday.
The exhibition, which takes place July 5-7 at IOI City Mall in the Malaysian administrative capital of Putrajaya, is the first of its kind to be held by Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). Its uniqueness is further bolstered by the fact that it is being held in association with AirAsia, the biggest budget airline in the region.
The fair kicked off Friday morning with a ribbon cutting ceremony by Thoyyib Mohamed, Managing Director of MMPRC, Amanda Woo, Regional Head of Corporate at AirAsia, and Visam Ali, Maldives Ambassador in Malaysia). This was followed by a press briefing.

Seventeen participants across the Maldives tourism industry representing top tour operators, travel agents, resorts and guesthouses are exhibiting at the fair. They are: AAA Hotels & Resorts, Coral Island Maldives, Crown & Champa Resorts, Furaveri Island resort & Spa, Guest House Association of Maldives, Lets Go Maldives, Liyela Retreat, Plumeria Hotels & Resorts, Reollo Travel, Resort Life Maldives, Season Paradise, Seven Ocean Travel, Splendid Asia, Sun Travel & Tours, Travel Connection Maldives, UI Maldives, and Villa Hotels & Resorts.
Whilst the first day of the event is dedicated to the travel trade, the second and third days will be open for consumers. The 150,000-200,000 shoppers that visit the award-winning mall will have the chance to visit the fair from 10am to 9pm on both days.

The whole arena has been designed to showcase the beauty and culture of Maldives. Complementing this, various cultural performances will be held throughout the exhibition. Visitors will also have a chance to taste authentic Maldivian flavours at the Visit Maldives stand. Other highlights include experiencing Maldives through virtual reality.

A raffle draw will select winners for free holidays in Maldives sponsored by Furaveri Island Resort & Spa, Paradise Island Resort & Spa, and Plumeria Maldives along with free tickets from AirAsia.
Meanwhile, AirAsia is also offering 20 per cent discount on all flights to the Maldives for bookings made during the fair. The discount is applicable for trips taken between July 5 and November 21.
“VMTE is a new avenue creating a great platform to open business opportunities for bringing the Malaysian and South East Asian markets to the Maldives, which is a new area of focus for the Maldives tourism. This initiative, together with numerous other activities planned for the rest of the year is anticipated to bring about a significant boost in this important regional market,” MMPRC said, in a statement.

Malaysia is a fast growing source market for Maldives tourism.
Official figures show that 22,202 Malaysian tourists visited the Maldives in 2018 — a 16.3 per cent increase over the 19,092 in 2017. That growth is set to continue this year, as arrivals from Malaysia recorded an 8.6 per cent increase in the first four months of the year to reach 7,800 from 7,185 in the same period last year.
The growth in the Malaysian market is boosted by AirAsia’s direct flight operations to the Maldives.
AirAsia currently operates a daily service connecting Kuala Lumpur and Male, utilising its fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft with 180 and 186 seat capacity. Separately, its long-haul affiliate AirAsia X serves the same route four days a week using Airbus A330-300 aircraft with 377-seat capacity, including 12 Premium Flatbed seats.
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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