A team of media professionals from leading magazines and publications from the Netherlands have departed the Maldives upon conclusion of a week-long familiarisation trip. The team visited the Maldives by invitation from Maldives Marketing and Public Relation Corporation’s (MMPRC / Visit Maldives) from the 6th to the 13th of April, 2022.

Consisting of popular writers, journalists and professionals from leading magazines and publications in the Netherlands, the total reach of the team exceeds millions of readers. The team was hosted at Joali Being, Grand Park Kodhipparu Maldives and Crossroads Maldives for the duration of the trip. Under the theme of ‘Wellness’, the team experienced the world renowned Maldivian hospitality and tried activities and dishes unique to the properties based on the established theme. The team will publish articles about the destination and host resorts in their respective magazines and publications, which has extensive reach among affluent travellers from the Netherlands.

This familiarisation trip provided the Maldives with the perfect opportunity to promote the destination as a safe haven for travellers from the Netherlands, and to promote the unique experiences and individual tourism products of the Maldives (resorts, guesthouses, liveaboards, and hotels).

This trip is organised as part of MMPRC’s marketing strategy for the Netherlands market, aiming to provide the latest information about the travel guidelines to potential travellers from the region. The strategy also aims to market the unique geography of our scattered islands, making it one of the safest destinations in the world.

This trip further fell under a new short term strategy devised to address the evolving geopolitical climate in the world following the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war. With Russia and CIS topping the arrivals figures in recent years, the strategy is aimed at mitigating the potential negative impact on arrival numbers from this region by re-strategising marketing activities in selected markets to minimise the potential adverse effects on the Maldives tourism industry and the nation’s economy.

This is the first activity being held by MMPRC for the Netherlands to promote Maldives as a top of the mind destination for tourists from this market. The activity is forecasted to increase arrival figures and bookings from the Netherlands to the Maldives. There are several other marketing and advertising activities in the pipeline for this market for this year, including print advertising campaigns, digital media marketing, and social media campaigns.

Maldives recorded 5,100 arrivals from the Netherlands in 2021. Prior to the pandemic, the Netherlands was a growing market, close in geographical proximity to most of the Maldives’ traditional top source markets in Western Europe. Market recovery since the pandemic has been on a steady incline, and subsequently, in the first three months of 2022, the Maldives has already seen 2,295 travellers visiting from the Netherlands.

The Maldives has recently eased travel restrictions imposed on tourists which enforced presenting of negative PCR tests by all travellers. In this regard, from 4th March 2022, tourists visiting the Maldives are no longer required to present a Covid-19 PCR negative result upon arrival if the prescribed doses of vaccine are completed 14 days prior to date of arrival. As of 13th March 2022, the Maldives has also lifted the national public health emergency, imposed in response to the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. The ease of travel restrictions and measures would make it easier for tourists to visit the Maldives.

MMPRC carried out 260 different marketing activities in 22 global markets last year, including fairs, roadshows, familiarisation trips, marketing campaigns, webinars, and interviews. The greatest testament to the success of these activities came late last year, as the Maldives secured the title of ‘World’s Leading Destination’ (among several other accolades) at the 2021 World Travel Awards, globally recognised as the hallmark of industry excellence. This is the second consecutive year that the Maldives had successfully earned this prestigious title, a shining testimony of the trust placed in the ‘magic of Maldivian hospitality’ by travellers from all over the globe.

This year also celebrates an exceptional year to visit the Maldives – the Golden Jubilee celebration of tourism in the Maldives kicked off earlier last year with plans to conduct new and exciting activities throughout the year.