Business
Visit Maldives exhibits at WTM virtual fair
Visit Maldives has taken part in one of the leading travel and tourism events, World Travel Market (WTM) Virtual 2020.
This year, WTM has been fully shifted to a virtual fair due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The virtual fair takes place from November 9-11, at 7-10am (UK time) daily.
WTM Virtual is joined by leading travel and tourism experts focusing on restoring and developing business connections amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Live conference sessions and forums focusing on the obstacles the tourism industry is facing globally, and how to tackle them with trendy and innovative solutions to suit the situation is set to take place during the three-day fair. The event organisers have also stated that a roadmap will be created for this purpose.
Visit Maldives will also join one-to-one meetings and speed networking sessions which will help in building connections among businesses and individuals, as well as increase the brand visibility and awareness of Maldives.
“The island nation has a unique geographical formation of islands which helps in ensuring the health and safety of tourists, thus, Maldives will be promoted as a safe haven during the event,” a statement issued by Visit Maldives read.
Along with Visit Maldives, five industry partners are participating in the virtual event. They are Villa Hotels & Resorts, Kaimoo Hotels & Resorts, Sun Siyam Resorts, Radisson Blu Resort Maldives, and Robinson Club Maldives.
Thoyyib Mohamed, the Managing Director of Visit Maldives, described WTM Virtual as a brilliant opportunity to promote the Maldives as one of the safest tourist destinations in the world at the moment.
“WTM Virtual 2020 is one of the leading global events for the travel and tourism industry. By participating in this event, we hope to assure travellers that Maldives is indeed a safe destination to travel to. Our aim is to increase our brand visibility and awareness to increase tourist arrivals during this time,” he said.
Due to Covid-19, several marketing activities and strategies have been shifted to online and digital mediums; the WTM London Virtual event is one of them.
Visit Maldives has been taking part in several online events throughout the year to promote Maldives tourism, and many more are planned for the remainder of the year.
Since the reopening of borders in July, Maldives has also attracted several influencers and celebrities from all over the world. Demi Rose, Katie Price and Natalie are among the ones who have travelled to the “sunny side of life” from the UK and they have featured the island nation and its properties in a number of social media posts.
“Visit Maldives anticipates that there will be more such travellers in the future,” the statement read.
Prior to the lockdown in March, 32,818 visitors from the UK arrived in the Maldives this year. A total of of 3,737 tourists from the UK has visited the Maldives since the border reopening.
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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