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Visit Maldives welcomes renowned British freelance journalist

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Visit Maldives has welcomed Lisa Kjellsson, a renowned freelance journalist from the United Kingdom, to promote the Maldives in the UK market.

This is the second of many familiarisation trips planned for the year and the first carried out for the UK market.

The purpose of this fam trip is to promote the islands as one of the safest destinations to travel to during the current situation and showcase the unique experiences in the Maldives with a specific focus on safety, luxury and eco-initiatives.

The trip will also highlight the stringent safety measures undertaken in the Maldives in relation to Covid-19 to ensure the Maldives remains a safe haven for British traveller’s due to the unique geographical formation of the islands.

Lisa, who arrived in the Maldives on February 2, contributes to high profile travel and lifestyle publications such as Sleeper, Tatler, West London Living, Citizen Femme and Robb Report, targeting an affluent audience in the UK.

The published features will generate major coverage highlighting the Maldives as a safe destination alongside aspects that are unique to the host properties.

The combined coverage generated from this fam trip is expected to reach nearly a million readers. The articles generated from the trip will also aid in strengthening the Maldives brand in among British travellers, so that it will be a go-to market.

During the two-week-long trip, Lisa will be hosted by Kuramathi Island Resort, The Nautilus Maldives, Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru, Hurawalhi Maldives, Kagi Maldives Spa Island and Six Senses Laamu, where she will experience spa and wellness activities, sustainable initiatives including coral regeneration and other marine conservation efforts, snorkelling and other watersports, tasting signature cuisines and other experiences unique to the respective properties, such as underwater dining.

The UK market has been a traditionally important market in terms of arrivals to the Maldives.

Visit Maldives focuses on innovative strategies and ultimate objectives, adopted to ensure the goals of achieving pre-pandemic arrival numbers in this year.

Several marketing activities have already been planned for 2021 including joint promotions with notable tour operators and prominent airlines, participation in key travel trade fairs and roadshows covering the UK & Ireland region.

Focused digital, social media and virtual activities are in the pipeline, aiming to maintain the destination presence and promote Maldives as the most preferred destination within the market.

In 2020, 52,520 tourists visited the Maldives from the UK. Though it was 58.2 per cent drop compared to 2019, the UK was ranked as the third highest arrival market despite an ongoing pandemic and travel restrictions.

Core markets from the region were among the leading arrivals to the Maldives post lockdown and continue to grow stronger day by day.

As the Maldives achieved the remarkable milestone of receiving 500,000 tourists amid an ongoing pandemic in 2020, the goal of reaching pre-pandemic arrival numbers from the UK shows consistent potential.

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Feydhoo Hall opens at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives as new event space

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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.

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BBM expands retail presence with new Hulhumalé outlet

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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.

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Ataraxis Grand & Spa hosts integrated work-and-dive corporate retreat in Fuvahmulah

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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.

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