Business
Maldives kicks off outdoor advertising campaign with Mediamond in Italy
Outdoor advertising campaign kicked off with Mediamond in Italy to increase brand presence for the Maldives. The joint campaign between Visit Maldives and Mediamond will be held in two phases, for 3 weeks in December 2021 and 1 week in January 2022.
Mediamond is Italy’s leading editorial content digital sales house thanks to the joint strength of Mediaset – the first Italian media group, and Mondadori – the leading magazines publishing house.
Their portfolio consists of over 70 media brands among the most important on the Italian scene, names known and loved by the public, able to naturally intertwine the products with the editorial fabric and to emphasise the affinities and values that the products represent. They have leading numbers in print, web, mobile, radio and digital out of home to ensure the visibility necessary to make advertising effective.

The campaign, jointly conducted by Visit Maldives and Mediamond, targets to further promote Maldives as a safe haven, increase brand presence and a greater degree of affinity with Maldives amongst Italians, in order to re-establish Maldives as top of mind destination as they book winter holidays.
To achieve this digital advertising of the Maldives will be displayed in 6 strategic areas in Milan. This will assist in creating awareness on different segments of tourism in Maldives including romance, wellness, luxury, diving and watersports. It aims to maintain a strong market presence at a time other island destinations have also become open to Italian travellers.
This campaign is held in line with Visit Maldives’ marketing strategy for the Italian market, aiming to promote the destination as a safe haven for Italian tourists.
The campaign will promote the Maldivian resorts, hotels, guesthouses and liveaboards, along with experiences unique to the Maldives to Italian travel trade and tourists. This campaign is expected to increase future bookings and arrivals from the Italian market.

So far this year we have held several activities targeting this market, including a campaign with Welcome Travels, campaign with Easy Market and BIT Milan.
Ongoing activities for the Italian market by Visit Maldives includes joint Campaign with Alpitour, E-Learning Campaign and Joint Campaign with Bluvacanze. Future activities planned ahead for this market include Campaign with Lonely Planet.
Prior to the pandemic in 2020, Italy ranked as the 4th top source market to Maldives with 46,690 arrivals while the country ranked as the 3rd top source market to Maldives in 2019 with 136,343 arrivals.
Since the pandemic, the arrivals from the market declined drastically due to travel restrictions and measures taken across the globe.
On 29th September, the Italian government established a travel corridor with tourist destinations including the Maldives, which allows Italians to travel to Maldives without quarantine-on-arrival upon returning to Italy. So far this year Maldives has welcomed over 1,060,004 with 12,633 tourists visiting the Maldives from Italy.
Our target is to achieve pre-pandemic arrivals from the Italian market by holding promotional and marketing activities and position Maldives as the top destination of choice for Italian travellers as borders are now reopening for leisure travel.
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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