Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has initiated exhibiting the Maldives at the biggest travel trade event held in India.

Maldives was exhibited in the OTM Mumbai, as the partner country.

MMPRC states that this was to further strengthen the Maldives’ brand visibility in the Indian market.

The fair was held in Mumbai from the 14th to 16th of March 2022, at the Bombay Exhibition Center.

OTM, also referred to as the gateway to India's largest travel market, is one of the largest international gatherings of travel trade buyers and professionals in India. This event provides the opportunity for the international travel trade to meet tourism professionals and build long-term business relations from around the world.

This year's OTM event saw over 1,100 exhibitors from 55 countries. The visitor figures are estimated to have reached over 30,000 for the three day event.

MMPRC states that, as the partner country,  Maldives was entitled to visibility on both offline and online components. As such Maldives will be promoted as a preferred holiday destination for Indians by highlighting tourism products and segments and experiences at strategic locations of the venue.

Maldives was represented by MMPRC at a designated stand at OTM 2022, along with 18 co-exhibitors.

MMPRC says that the main purpose of participating in this event was to promote the Maldives as a safe haven for travelers and to update the Indian travel trade with the latest information and travel guidelines from the destination.

Throughout the event, MMPRC showcased the geographical advantages of the scattered islands of the Maldives. They highlighted that this allowed natural social distancing in the country, making Maldives one of the safest destinations for tourists.

They also marketed the resorts, hotels, guesthouses/homestays and liveaboards of Maldives at the event.

Managing Director of MMPRC, Thoyyib Mohamed, participated in a panel discussion held on the sidelines of OTM under the title “The Importance of India-Outbound in the Post Pandemic Market Recovery”.

Speaking at this panel discussion, Thoyyib addressed the current position of the market and the ongoing efforts by MMPRC and industry stakeholders to maintain the Maldives as one of the most preferred destinations among Indians.

MMPRC was also conferred an award by One Above Agency, one of the leading travel agencies of India, in recognition for the work done by the corporation in the Indian market. The award was titled “FRIEND OF INDIAN OUTBOUND TRAVEL FRATERNITY”.

India has been the top source tourist market of the Maldives for the past two years. As such, over 278,740 tourists from India visited Maldives during 2021. That year Indian tourists shared 22.6 percent of the Maldivian market. In 2020 the arrival figure from India was 62,960. Which was 11.3 percent of the market share that year.

A total of 31,433 Indian tourists have visit Maldives, so far this year.