Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC / Visit Maldives) has kicked off an exciting series of roadshows targeting the Middle East market as part of the effort to provide a platform for industry partners from both sides to connect and establish relations. The roadshows are held in Saudi Arabia, in the capital city Riyadh, then Jeddah and finally Kuwait City on May 23rd, 25th, and 26th respectively.

Alongside its industry partners, MMPRC aims to build and maintain a strong B2B presence in GCC countries, share the latest destination updates and guidelines with the travel trade, and ultimately increase arrival figures from GCC countries. Maldivian tourism products, including resorts, hotels, guesthouses and liveaboards will be marketed through this event by MMPRC and industry partners. Sixteen participants are taking part in the Roadshow in Riyadh, with 18 participants taking part in the roadshow in Jeddah, and 16 confirmed participants for the roadshow held in Kuwait City.

The roadshow, entitled “Connect with Maldives…The Ultimate Dream Destination”, begins with a warm introduction of our industry partners followed by a destination presentation. The presentation highlights Maldives’ tourism products (resorts, guesthouses, liveaboards, and hotels), the unique experiences available here, and the latest travel guidelines for the Maldives. The safety provided by the scattered geography of the Maldives is also being highlighted during the roadshow series.

The presentation portion of the roadshow is followed by a productive night of networking and building new business relations. To maximise visibility, MMPRC has invited over 80 agents from each city to take part in the roadshow. Industry partners have the opportunity to showcase their properties, generate new business leads, and engage in one-on-one networking opportunities.

Sponsored by Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, a special raffle was conducted at the Riyadh Roadshow, awarding a free trip to the Maldives for the lucky winner. Villa Hotels & Resorts and Taj Exotica Resort & Spa are sponsoring similar raffles for the roadshows to be held in Jeddah and Kuwait City, respectively. The second and third runner-up of the raffle wins a smartwatch and amazon gift card respectively sponsored by MMPRC.

MMPRC is conducting these roadshows as part of its marketing strategy for the Middle East market. These include greater B2B contact in order to increase total outreach, campaigns that cover all the products and experiences of Maldives, and to strengthen the Maldives’ niche position in the region as a chic destination for affluent travellers.

Last year, the Maldives welcomed 91,413 tourists to the country from the Middle Eastern market with Saudi Arabia ranked as the top 7th market to Maldives. From January to March this year, the country has recorded 21,117 arrivals from the Middle East market. So far in 2022, MMPRC has taken part in major fairs across the Middle East market such as QBLT Congress, MALT Congress, and ATM 2022. MMPRC has also conducted other marketing activities alongside these fairs, and held a special press conference on the sidelines of ATM to inform the international travel trade and media on destination information of the Maldives and the plans in the pipeline for the Maldives Golden Jubilee Year of Tourism.

MMPRC has planned several activities targeting the Middle East market under the effort to maintain destination visibility. This includes joint-marketing campaigns, webinars, participation in major fairs and exhibitions, outdoor advertising, roadshows, and hosting familiarisation trips.

As the company responsible for marketing the Maldives as a destination abroad, 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.