Maldives Promotion House – Maldivian airline together with Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) have successfully completed road-shows in the Indian cities of Mumbai and Chennai on 27th and 28th September. The delegation led by Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Maleeh Jamal was joined by members from 15 companies including hoteliers and travel agents.

Seeking to maximize its promotional impact with the commence of the Maldivian, the national carrier of the Maldives to Mumbai and Chennai, the delegation staged a special Maldives tourism promotion workshop at Hotel Radisson Blu City Centre in Chennai on 27th September 2012,  and at Taj Lands End on Mumbai on 28th September 2012.

The local travel-industry enterprises who joined the road-shows were updated with Maldives travel products, and latest travel-related information. The growth rate for travellers from India to Maldives increased by 20% i. e from 25,756 in 2010 to 30,978 in 2011. Maldives targets to achieve 2% increase in Indian arrivals by Dec 2012.

According Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Maleeh Jamal, with close proximity and added flight connections India will become one of the most interesting emerging markets for Maldives. He said “Indian travel agents and tour operators have shown extreme curiosity and interest on Maldives and introducing new beach holidays. We aim to attract 100,000 Indian tourists to Maldives in the next two years”.

Maldives is an up market destination and is perceived to be an expensive destination whereas it is absolutely affordable and a reasonable destination since it offers different categories of accommodation in the resorts, live-aboards, guest houses. The main segment for Maldives is honeymoon, diving, families as well as MICE. Maldives is the perfect destination for travellers looking for a break from work or daily lives with its abundance of everything that brings joy to the mind; sun, sand, sea and spa. It’s a world renowned honeymoon destination and with its uniqueness as one island one resort concept provides visitors unbeatable privacy.

In recent years, Maldives has become a popular travel destination in the international market. It has emerged as the playground for Indian celebrities like Hrithik Roshan, Madhuri Dixit, Salman Khan, Pretty Zinta, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Malaika Arora to name a few who regularly visits, while number of Bollywood film makers regularly shoot in Maldives.