Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has conducted a series of roadshows targeting the Middle East market.

MMPRC states that these roadshows were part of their effort to provide a platform for industry partners from both sides to connect and establish relations.

The roadshows was titled "Connect with Maldives, The Ultimate Dream Destination".

The roadshows were held in Saudi Arabia, in the capital city Riyadh, then Jeddah and Kuwait City on May 23rd, 25th, and 26th respectively.

MMPRC states that they aimed to build and maintain a strong B2B presence in GCC countries. As such, MMPRC shared latest destination updates and guidelines with the travel trade, with the aim to increase arrival figures from GCC countries.

Maldivian tourism products, including resorts, hotels, guesthouses and liveaboards were marketed through this event by MMPRC.

They shared that 16 participants took part in the Roadshow in Riyadh, with 18 participants taking part in the roadshow in Jeddah, and 16 participants for the roadshow held in Kuwait City.

The roadshows began with a warm introduction of industry partners followed by a destination presentation. The presentation highlighted Maldives’ tourism products, resorts, guesthouses, liveaboards, and hotels, as well as the unique experiences available in Maldives. The latest travel guidelines of the Maldives along with the safety provided by the scattered geography of the Maldives was also highlighted during the roadshow series.

MMPRC disclosed that the presentation portion of the roadshow was followed by a productive night of networking and building new business relations. To maximize visibility, MMPRC invited over 80 agents from each city to take part in the roadshow.

Additionally, industry partners were given the opportunity to showcase their properties, generate new business leads, and engage in one-on-one networking opportunities.

Moreover, a special raffle was conducted at the Riyadh Roadshow, awarding a free trip to the Maldives for the lucky winner, sponsored by Taj Exotica Resort & Spa.

Villa Hotels & Resorts and Taj Exotica Resort & Spa sponsored similar raffles for the roadshows held in Jeddah and Kuwait City, respectively.

The second and third runner-up of the raffle wins a smartwatch and amazon gift card respectively sponsored by MMPRC.

MMPRC is conducting these roadshows as part of their marketing strategy for the Middle East market. These include greater B2B contact in order to increase the total outreach, campaigns that cover all the products, experiences of Maldives and to strengthen the Maldives’ niche position in the region as a chic destination for affluent travelers.

Last year, the Maldives welcomed 91,413 tourists to the country from the Middle Eastern market with Saudi Arabia ranked as the top 7th market to Maldives.

So far in 2022, MMPRC has taken part in major fairs across the Middle East market such as QBLT Congress, MALT Congress, and ATM 2022. They have also conducted other marketing activities alongside these fairs, and held a special press conference on the sidelines of ATM to inform the international travel trade and media on destination information of the Maldives and the plans in the pipeline for the Maldives Golden Jubilee Year of Tourism.