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Visit Maldives hosts marketing activities in South Korean market

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The South Korean market holds the position as an important market to Maldivian tourism. Prior to the pandemic, South Korea was an emerging top source market in terms of arrivals to the Maldives.

In 2019, Maldives recorded 36,609 arrivals from South Korea ranking the market as the 12th top source market to Maldives.

The nation is currently experiencing a decline in Covid-19 cases and is in the process of easing travel restrictions. Furthermore, vaccination began in February and fully-vaccinated South Koreans are exempted from the mandatory 14-day quarantine upon re-entry into South Korea.

Despite travel restrictions, Visit Maldives continued to maintain destination presence and promote Maldives as a safe haven across the South Korean market as part of the global crisis marketing strategy.

As the market recovers, Visit Maldives aims to ensure that Maldives is the top of the mind destination for South Koreans to travel to after Covid-19.

During April, Visit Maldives launched a successful webinar and virtual roadshow for the South Korean market to educate the South Korean travel trade on the latest information regarding Maldives, establish strong relationships with travel trade, and promote Maldives as one of the safest and most preferred destinations in the world.

During the webinar and roadshow, the unique products and experiences of Maldivian tourism was highlighted as well as the safety provided by the natural socially-distanced geography of Maldives and the one-island-one resort concept.

Visit Maldives has also launched a digital media marketing campaign for the South Korean Market this March to position the Maldives as the leading travel destination through Naver, Kakao Talk, Facebook and Instagram – digital platforms that are increasingly popular in the South Korean market.

The most recent campaign launched targeting the South Korean market is a six-month long outdoor campaign to increase brand visibility. Throughout this campaign, alluring images and videos of Maldives will be showcased in prominent locations in the capital of South Korea.

Under this campaign, Maldives will be promoted in Subway screen doors of four major stations and in COEX digital media tunnel. The advertisements placed in Subway screen doors will reach a diverse range of classes and age-groups and they will be exposed to the advertisements for a relatively lengthy-period due to waiting times in the subway station.

COEX digital tunnel is situated in the largest commercial district of Gangnam and the video advertisements will reach an incredibly diverse audience. The advertisements in digital media tunnels and subway screen doors are estimated to reach 260,000 consumers and 450,000 consumers per day respectively.

Coinciding with the outdoor campaign, a social media campaign will also be carried out to increase the opportunity to connect offline advertisements with online channels to maximise destination exposure. Passengers will be invited to share photos of the ads with a specific hashtag and to follow the Visit Maldives accounts entitling them for a raffle draw.

The activities for the South Korean market are carried out aligned with Visit Maldives’ greater strategy for this market.

The strategies for the South Korean market consists of conducting social media campaigns on all major local social media platforms, taking part in major travel fairs and roadshows to cover all major cities, targeted campaigns timed for local holiday periods, establishing stronger relationship through direct B2B connection with the travel trade, promoting destination on high-end channels as well as focused advertising and promotion of the popular Maldivian products and uniquely-Maldivian experiences.

Activities in the pipeline include media and influencer familiarisation trips, joint promotions with airlines, joint campaigns with local OTA’s and honeymoon agencies as well as print media advertisements.

As a result of the border closures and travel restrictions amongst the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a significant drop in the number of arrivals from South Korea.

As of February, Maldives welcomed 162 arrivals from South Korea. However, there is hope that Maldives holds its position as a top of the mind destination for South Korean travellers as a result of the comprehensive advertising campaigns carried out in this market.

With four major airlines currently operating in 2021, it is estimated that the arrival figure from the South Korean market will steadily increase within the next few months.

Maldives reopened its borders for tourists of all nationalities on July 15, with rigorous procedures in place to ensure the safety of tourists and tourism workers. Tourists are required to fill an online health declaration form within 24 hours prior to their departure, as well as have a negative PCR test result, conducted 96 hours prior to their departure.

The administration of the Covid-19 vaccine was initiated on February 1 with the government of Maldives set to provide free Covid-19 vaccines to all citizens and residents of the country in the upcoming months.

Visit Maldives together with the tourism ministry launches “I’m Vaccinated” campaign in order to share a positive message regarding the vaccination of staff working in the tourism sector as well as promoting the initiatives undertaken to ensure the Maldives remains one of the safest destinations in the world for travellers.

The ultimate target is to make Maldives the destination with the first fully vaccinated tourism sector in the world.

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Feydhoo Hall opens at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives as new event space

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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.

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BBM expands retail presence with new Hulhumalé outlet

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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.

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Ataraxis Grand & Spa hosts integrated work-and-dive corporate retreat in Fuvahmulah

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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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