Month: June 2022

A media team from Indonesia have arrived in the Maldives on a familiarisation trip aimed at promoting adventure and dive experiences available in the destination. The team, by invitation from Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC / Visit Maldives), will stay in the Maldives from 23rd to 28th June 2022. The team includes representatives from prominent Indonesian publications, and are staying in Kuramathi Maldives, Pullman Maldives Maamutaa and Mercure Maldives Koodoo where they will experience Maldivian hospitality, gourmet cuisine, and the unique experiences and services available in these resorts.

This trip will help to promote the diving segment of the Maldives, showcasing dive facilities and relevant experiences. Through this trip, we will be able to promote the Maldivian tourism products, including resorts, hotels, guesthouses, and liveaboards, to the Indonesian market. We will also be able to market the unique geographic aspects of our scattered islands, the one-island-one resort concept, and the safety and seclusion that our destination offers tourists. The participants of the trip will share social media posts and write articles about their experiences in the Maldives, expected to reach 30 million potential travellers from Indonesia.

The trip is conducted as part of our marketing strategy for the Indonesian market. This strategy is based on promoting the Maldives by building greater brand awareness as one of the safest destinations, and by providing coverage and digital visibility in Indonesia.

Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, Maldives welcomed over 4 thousand tourists from Indonesia, while 2021 saw over 950 arrivals from this market. From January to April 2022, there have been 365 arrivals from Indonesia. MMPRC plans to hold several marketing activities this year for Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia to increase arrivals from this region.

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.

-End-

Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC / Visit Maldives) has initiated an advertising campaign with DestinAsian, an award-winning magazine focusing on the Southeast Asian and Asia Pacific regions. The campaign, held from June to August 2022, is targeted at strengthening and promoting the Maldives' brand presence in the Southeast Asian market.

Established in 2001, DestinAsian is the leading award-winning travel magazine in the Asia-Pacific region with a readership of 98,364 per edition. The magazine offers a regular line-up of sections that keep tabs on the latest cultural, lifestyle, and hospitality news around Asia and the world. The Maldives was awarded the title of ‘Top 5 Best Island’ in the DestinAsian Readers’ Choice Awards 2022. This campaign will include a full-page advertisement as a ‘Thank You’ from the destination to the readers. The campaign also includes social media posts advertising The Golden Jubilee of Tourism and the Maldives’ advantage of being a ‘Safe Haven’ for travellers. The campaign will also see a dedicated EDM email blast and a bonus 2-month MPU 2 banner on the DestinAsian website.

The purpose of this campaign is to maintain brand visibility in the SEA market and to maximize the visibility of the Maldives within the online platforms of the market. The campaign aims to market the natural geographic advantages of the Maldives having scattered islands which allows natural social distancing, to market the individual products including resorts, hotels, guesthouses/homestay and liveaboards in the SEA market.

The strategy is based on informing the travel trade and travellers about the latest travel guidelines and unique experiences available to holidaymakers in the Maldives. It further falls under a new short-term strategy devised to address the evolving geopolitical climate in the world following the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war. With Russia and CIS topping the arrivals figures in recent years, the strategy is aimed at mitigating the potential negative impact on arrival numbers from this region by restrategizing marketing activities in selected markets to minimise the potential adverse effects on the Maldives tourism industry and the nation’s economy.

The Maldives welcomed a total of 431,503 arrivals by April. From January to March 2022 Maldives welcomed 3,990 tourists from the SEA market. MMPRC has successfully completed several marketing campaigns for this market so far in 2022, including a marketing campaign with Travel Weekly Asia and participation in fairs such as MATTA 2022.
The Maldives has recently eased travel restrictions imposed on tourists which enforced presenting of negative PCR tests by all travellers. In this regard, from 4th March 2022, tourists visiting the Maldives are no longer required to present a Covid-19 PCR negative result upon arrival if the prescribed doses of vaccine are completed 14 days prior to the date of arrival. As of 13th March 2022, the Maldives has also lifted the national public health emergency, imposed in response to the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. The ease of travel restrictions and measures would make it easier for tourists to visit the Maldives.

MMPRC carried out 260 different marketing activities in 22 global markets last year, including fairs, roadshows, familiarization 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.

This year also celebrates an exceptional year to visit the Maldives – the Golden Jubilee celebration of tourism in the Maldives kicked off earlier last year with plans to conduct new and exciting activities throughout the year.

-End-

Following two incredibly successful global campaigns with CNN, Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC / Visit Maldives) has signed an advertising and branded content agreement with CNN International Commercial to promote the Maldives to a global audience through persuasive storytelling. This campaign with CNN will be conducted from June till the end of October 2022. MMPRC campaigns with CNN in the past two years focused on promoting local talents, artists, and stories on a global scale. The success of these campaigns inspired us to continue our partnership with CNN in order to promote Maldives through local talents.

The agreement was signed during a ceremony held at MMPRC headquarters on 25th May 2022 by Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of MMPRC, Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed, and by Mr Abhijeet Dhar, Director Sales, South Asia, CNN International Commercial.

CEO & MD Thoyyib stated that CNN had been instrumental in promoting the Maldives through immersive storytelling over the past few years. He said that the campaign will amplify the story of 50 successful years of tourism in the Maldives through a combination of storytelling with emotional resonance and cultural relevance, to elevate perceptions of the Maldives in the minds of travelers.

Speaking about the campaign, Abhijeet Dhar, Director Sales South Asia, CNN International Commercial, said “We are thrilled to take our campaign with MMPRC into the 3rd consecutive year for a global cross-platform campaign that brings Maldives’ travel experiences to life – especially when this beautiful country celebrates its 50th year of Tourism. Our campaign is a compelling combination of rich storytelling, adept branded content and unparalleled engagement that CNN has with its audience. This year we’ve also brought to fore a brand-new immersive story-telling experience for our audiences to showcase the hidden gems of Maldives that are beautiful and undiscovered to our audiences across the globe.”

CNNIC's global brand studio Create will also roll out a branded content production under the concept ‘Rediscover Paradise’. This production will appeal to travelers through emotion, resonance, and relatability, and provide an opportunity for them to rediscover paradise. TV productions, digital videos and articles, social media campaigns, photo galleries, and audio tours are some of the diverse approaches CNN will utilize in its content production. The campaign will run adjacent to new upcoming travel and lifestyle content that CNN is developing about the Maldives to run across its TV and digital platforms.

The purpose of the campaign is to promote the Maldives beyond the sun, sand, and sea – delving deep into the rich culture, heritage, and threads of Maldivian society and lifestyle. Stories will be interwoven with the breathtaking beauty and wonder of the Maldives’ natural environment. The content produced in this campaign is designed to reach a global audience. MMPRC focuses heavily on providing exposure and opportunities for local talents and artists during global campaigns such as these. Therefore, we will emphasize promoting local talents during this year's campaign with CNN as well.

This is the third time we have signed a global campaign agreement with CNN in the past two years. Our first campaign was during the pandemic, and CNN was instrumental in promoting the Maldives as a safe haven in the global market. Our campaign in 2021 with CNN under the theme of ‘Reconnect Maldives’ explored different stories within the tourism industry, the different products and experiences available here, and why the Maldives remains one of the safest destinations. We are confident that our continued campaign with CNN will yield a successful outcome and maintain the Maldives as one of the leading tourist destinations in the world.

-End-

MMPRC was joined by 6 representatives from 4 partnered co-exhibitors. We participated in the event to maintain destination presence and create brand awareness, as well as to share the relevant information to the travel trade and potential travelers from Malaysia, Southeast Asia market and beyond. Through this event, we specifically targeted the dive segment, which is an important market for the destination.

MMPRC and industry partners promoted the dive and underwater experiences available in the Maldives to potential dive and underwater sports enthusiasts. We held one-on-one meetings with top travel trade members, showcased our tourism products including resorts, hotels, guesthouses and liveaboards, and promoted the unique experiences and services available in the Maldives. We aim to create meaningful partnerships with the international travel and tourism trade, as this was a perfect opportunity to inform them of the latest destination information, travel guidelines and safety measures in place in our facilities. MIDE fair also organized a series of talks by professionals from the diving and watersports field during the event. On the second day of the fair, experienced Maldivian diver Shafraz Naeem, gave a talk on “Diving in Maldives”.

A special quiz was conducted during the fair, from which one lucky participant was selected from all those who answered the quiz questionnaire correctly. On the last day of the fair, a lucky draw was conducted and the winner awarded a special gift.

Malaysian borders were closed due to Covid restrictions for most of 2020 and 2021, but are now open for travel. From January to February this year, the Maldives welcomed 1,194 visitors from the Southeast Asian market. MMPRC has conducted several social media/digital campaigns and other activities for countries in the South East Asian market this year, to maintain destination momentum and increase arrivals. This includes campaigns with TripZilla and Travel Weekly Asia and participation in MATTA Fair and Thailand Dive Expo. Ongoing activities for this market include a cabvertising campaign with MyBump Media, marketing campaigns with TripZilla, Apple Vacations, and the Maldives E-Learning Program. Many more activities are in the pipeline for the SEA market for the ongoing year.

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, familiarization 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 travelers from all over the globe.

This year also celebrates an exceptional year to visit the Maldives – the Golden Jubilee celebration of tourism in the Maldives kicked off earlier last year with plans to conduct new and exciting activities throughout the year.

-End-