Travel Trade Maldives (TTM) 2018 celebrated its success with a colourful gala ceremony Wednesday evening, as the largest travel fair in the Maldives ended its second day of pre-scheduled meetings.
All participants of TTM 2018, including local and international exhibitors and visitors as well as partners attended the special dinner hosted by Adaaran Select Hudhuranfushi resort.
After a hectic day of meetings, all participants of TTM 2018 were invited to the TTM gala dinner, which played a vital role in allowing the participants to network with each other in a more relaxed setting.
Featuring a multi-cuisine buffet, Adaaran Resorts Maldives showed off a glimpse of their latest property in the Maldives, Heritance Aarah. Equipped with 157 villas and suites separated by tropical vegetation for privacy, Heritance Aarah is set to open in winter of 2018.
During the gala dinner, TTM organiser Maldives Getaways presented all partners with a token of appreciation for their continuing support.
Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) CEO Ibrahim Ziyath accepted the award on behalf of the platinum partner, while the Managing Director of Yanmar Jackson Tan gave a speech on behalf of both MTCC and Yanmar Asia.
Officials of Maldives Getaways pose for a photo with partners at the gala night of TTM 2018. PHOTO/ MALDIVES GETAWAYS
A special recognition award was also given to Adaaran Resorts Maldives, in appreciation of not only their generous hospitality but also the for their generosity.
Speaking at the dinner, Assistant Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Adaaran Resorts Suresh Dissanayake congratulated and commended the efforts of the team at Maldives Getaways for pulling off a successful second year of TTM, and unveiled that the PR and marketing company was to hold a Travel Trade Sri Lanka (TTSL) event in neighbouring Sri Lanka in 2019.
TTM 2018 has been a tremendous success so far, with over 280 visitors during the first day. This number increased to over 350 visitors on the second day of TTM.
Exhibitors expressed their delight at the turnout on both days.
Ahmed Naufal, the Associate Director of Sales at Dhevanafushi Maldives Luxury Resort and Spa, said that their meetings have been very successful so far. TTM brought in a large Korean market, which the resort was targeting towards, he added.
Dhevanafushi Maldives is soon to be rebranded by AccorHotels under the name Raffles Maldives Meradhoo.
Pre-scheduled meetings take place during the second day of TTM 2018. PHOTO/ MALDIVES GETAWAYS
The last batch of pre-scheduled meetings of TTM began Thursday morning at the main convention centre of Dharubaaruge in Male.
TTM 2018 kicked off Monday with a summit dedicated to tackle the most pressing issues in the world-renowned holiday destination.
As part of TTM 2018, the first ever Maldives Supplier Expo will be held from Friday to Saturday. More than 50 suppliers will have one-on-one prescheduled meetings with officials from procurement, accounts, finance, and F&B departments of more than 100 resorts.
TTM, which was launched last year by local PR firm Maldives Getaways, aims to facilitate the tourism industry of Maldives to reach the ultimate target of two million tourists per year with over USD 3.5 billion in receipts by the end of 2020.
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.
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.
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.
