Visit Maldives, in collaboration with industry stakeholders, has participated in a webinar series organized by the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA).

The series was conducted on a one destination per webinar basis, in which a Maldives-focused three-hour session took place on December 16.

The purpose of this event was to relay the latest information about the newly introduced safe tourism guidelines, and the latest updates on the Maldivian products to the Japanese travel trade.

The event also provided opportunities to the resorts and other industry partners to showcase their unique experiences.

The event commenced with opening remarks by Thoyyib Mohamed, the Managing Director of Visit Maldives. This was followed by a speech from the Maldives’ ambassador to Japan Ibrahim Uvais.

As the main component of the event, the six industry partners that participated in the event gave a variety of presentations. These presentations focused on showcasing the post-lockdown experiences available in Maldives.

To get a glimpse of these wonderful experiences, more than five hundred attendees from the Japanese travel trade industry were present at the sessions.

Japan has remained one of the key markets to the Maldives. In 2019, a total of 44,251 Japanese tourists visited the Maldives, making Japan the ninth top market in terms of tourist arrivals.

Prior to the lockdown in March, the Maldives recorded 8,302 Japanese visitors.

Visit Maldives kicked off this year with ambitious plans to achieve greater milestones. However, some of the marketing campaigns had to be put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With newfound spirit, the team at Visit Maldives adapted and shifted focus towards maintaining the destination’s presence through digital and social media platforms, ensuring constant visibility within the Japanese market.

Targeting the Japanese market, Visit Maldives also participated in JATA Travel Mart. Stretched over six days from July 31 to September 2, the fair consisted of a travel forum, webinars and one-on-one meetings.

Visit Maldives continues to carry out several marketing activities in global markets to promote the Maldives, in which over 415 different types of activities have been carried out in 22 countries. These include notable campaigns such as an online roadshow in China, a global advertising campaign with Skyscanner, and a digital marketing campaign with Zomato which recently concluded in the Middle East market.

Under the constant efforts and health and safety precautions undertaken prior to the reopening, Maldives recently welcomed the 100,000th visitor since the reopening of borders, and the 500,000th visitor for the year 2020.

Maldives has also received the World’s Leading Destination award by the World Travel Awards this year, which is a testament to the love and yearning travelers have towards traveling to one of the safest destinations in the world.

It is estimated that the tourist arrival rates will increase during the year 2021, and that some 1.5 million tourists will visit the country.