Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/Visit Maldives) has celebrated reaching H.E President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s tourist arrivals target for 2022 with a vibrant ceremony to welcome the 1.6 millionth tourist to the Maldives. This milestone, announced by President Solih in his Presidential Address this year, was achieved through the hard work and dedication of Government agencies, industry stakeholders، and travel trade partners from across the globe.
The event held today to celebrate the arrival of the 1.6 millionth visitor of 2022 was organised by MMPRC with invaluable assistance from Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), the Ministry of Tourism, Maldives Immigration and Maldives Customs Service. The honoured Chief Guest of the event was the Vice President of the Maldives H.E Faisal Naseem.
The 1.6 millionth visitor, Tejas Sanjay Kothari from India arrived in the Maldives for his honeymoon onboard Air Vistara Flight No. UK271. He was conferred special gifts on behalf of MMPRC, the Tourism Ministry, and other stakeholders. This is his first time in the Maldives and he is accompanied by his spouse.
Tejas Sanjay was welcomed and escorted to the event area with traditional Maldivian Boduberu and cultural procession. A traditional Maldivian dance performance was carried out for the visitor after which special gifts were conferred to him by MMPRC, MACL, Tourism Ministry, Maldives Immigration, and Maldives Customs Service. The gifts included a traditional Maldivian Tannu, conferred to the visitor by H.E Vice President Faisal Naseem, a gift hamper from Visit Maldives, and a free holiday voucher from LUX* South Ari Atoll.
Congratulating all parties involved in achieving this important milestone, the CEO & MD of MMPRC, Mr Thoyyib Mohamed stated that the golden jubilee year of tourism holds a record for milestones related to the tourism sector, citing that this is all due to the persistent and continuous efforts of everyone involved in the industry.
“We are celebrating yet another milestone following our recent momentous wins at the WTA. It is no small feat for a tiny nation like ours to be crowned the World’s Leading Destination thrice in a row. Our perseverance during the harshest of times that the world has seen recently led us to these achievements. All this is undeniably the result of the Government’s foresight in policy formulation; implementation during and post-covid; the sacrifices and hard work of employees of the tourism sector; the joint efforts of every single tourism sector stakeholder; and the noteworthy efforts of MMPRC staff and our network of global travel trade partners. We move forward now, with even more determination to uphold this level of service excellence.”
The Minister of Tourism, Dr Abdulla Mausoom, also made a statement regarding the achievement of this national milestone.
“Appreciate the engagement and support of Travel and Tourism Industry stakeholders in achieving yet another milestone of Maldives Tourism success story. Congratulations all! This quick rebound of Maldives tourism to pre-pandemic level is a clear indication of the visionary leadership of His Excellency President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, sound tourism policies and the strong partnership between the government and the private sector”, the Minister said.
Last year, the Maldives achieved the 1.3 million tourist arrival mark set by the Government two months ahead of the forecasted date. This year’s 1.6 million tourist arrival figure is a 23.1 per cent increase compared to last year. The event concluded today to celebrate reaching the national target to welcome 1.6 million visitors in 2022 was spearheaded by MMPRC.
As of the fourth quarter of this year, MMPRC had conducted over 171 marketing and promotional activities including 88 marketing campaigns, 41 Fairs, 06 Roadshows, 10 Virtual Events, 17 Familiarisation Trips, and 09 other events worldwide to promote Maldives as a tourist destination. The greatest testament to the success of these activities came this year, as the Maldives secured the title of ‘World’s Leading Destination’ (among several other accolades) at the 2022 World Travel Awards, globally recognised as the hallmark of industry excellence. This is the third 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, MMPRC also secured the title of 'World's Leading Tourist Board' for the first time in our nation's history. Throughout the year the Maldives has also won several other awards while resorts, properties, tour operators, and travel agencies also won individual awards in the global arena.