Maldives Promotion House – Maldives recently participated in the World Islamic Tourism Mart 2012 held in Malaysia last May. While this was the first time Maldives participated in such a fair, according to the Deputy Minister for Tourism Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, Maldives has the potential to develop Islamic Tourism.

Maleeh, who had also participated in the Islamic conference within the fair, said that tourism in the country can advance with the experience gained from the fair. He also speculated that an Islamic tourism fair can be hosted in the Maldives.

“Malaysian media is very positive about Maldives. Many tourists can be brought to Maldives from the destination,” Maleeh said. “The Malaysian economy is stable. Malaysian flights operate to the Maldives almost every day. Many tourists can be brought through more effort.”

According to statistics, the number of tourists who visited Maldives from Malaysia in the first 4 months of this year had an 18 percent increase compared to the same period of last year.

The Maldivian delegation which met senior officials from the Malaysian Tourism Ministry and travel agents at the WITM 2012, said that their image of the Maldivian tourism industry is very positive.