More than 240 representatives from the Maldives will take part in ITB Berlin this year, the country’s official tourism promotion body Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) announced Monday.

In a statement, MMPRC said 240 participants from 99 companies will represent the Maldives at the world’s largest travel trade exhibition, which will be held from March 4-8 in Berlin. They will be joined by officials from MMPRC, it added.

MMPRC also announced that the Maldives will have an expanded stand at the fair. A 91sqm supplemental stand will be located opposite of the main stand, bringing the total space dedicated for Maldives at the fair grounds to 491sqm.

In order to share important information regarding this year’s exhibition, MMPRC hosted a pre-meeting at the Maagiri Hotel in capital Male Monday morning.

During the hour-long meeting, important information regarding this year’s exhibition, including how to maximise participation and opportunities available, was shared with the participants. Ideas on how to improve the event were also exchanged.

The pre-meeting, which was attended by MMPRC Managing Director Thoyyib Mohamed, also provided the official tourism promotion body with the opportunity to meet with the delegation before the exhibition.

ITB Berlin is the largest travel trade exhibition in the world, showcasing over 10,000 exhibitors and visited by over 160,000 visitors. The fair covers all aspects of travel and tourism, including destinations, tour operators, airlines, hotels, bloggers and several other stakeholders from the industry.

As a major traditional source market to Maldives tourism, Germany contributed 7.7 per cent of the total tourist arrivals to the Maldives in 2019. A total of 131,561 Germans vacationed in the Maldives in 2019 — an increase of 11.9 per cent compared to the previous year.