Tourism promotion officials in Maldives launched a webinar series Wednesday to promote the Maldives and reconnect with the global travel trade community after the reopening of the island nation’s borders.

With the reopening of Maldives’ borders to international tourists on July 15, the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) kick-started the Rediscover Maldives… the Sunny Side of Life campaign to strengthen market presence and welcome tourists back to the Maldives.

In light of positive feedback, MMPRC aims to strengthen travellers’ confidence in the destination and take the campaign one step further by introducing the Rediscover Maldives Webinar Series. It is part of the crisis recovery action plan, targeted to reconnect with the travel trade community and the media from specific source markets.

The webinar series consists of four hour-long sessions held once a week for selected markets. The sessions take the form of a panel discussion where PR representatives from each market and industry partners join officials from MMPRC.

“This is a series of destination awareness webinars to discuss the impacts of Covid-19 and emphasise on the recovery strategies in the tourism industry, as well as introduce the new norms in traveling and rebuild the confidence in the destination as a ‘safe haven’ for tourists,” MMPRC said, in a statement.

“Maldives is considered one of the safest countries to visit due to the stringent measures taken in tourist establishments and the safety provided by its unique geography.”

During the first session of the webinar series held Wednesday, MMPRC also launched a campaign titled, “A Dozen Must Do Experiences in the Maldives”.

The purpose of this campaign is to promote unique experiences offered by tourist establishments in the Maldives such as flying above the islands, swimming freely in harmony with nature, and treehouse adventures.

Amid the changing situation in several markets, MMPRC has been participating in and conducting several marketing campaigns such as destination training for travel trade in key potential markets, as well as virtual events for travel trade and consumers.

The initiatives include the ‘Maldives, The Sun Will Shine Again’ Facebook live event, the Dream to Travel Festival organised by Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), an online campaign with Kayak and a global advertising campaign with CNN, as well as webinar sessions targeted to Chinese and Indian travel trade.