NDTV Food has featured a special episode on Maldivian gastronomy.

The show was titled “Food & Flavours from the Sunny Side of Life”.

Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) states that the episode is expected to reach over 130 million households and 20 million individual users via their mobile app.

The programme featured Chef Mohammed Haneef, Chef De Cuisine at Lux South Ari Atoll.

The 20-minute episode provides an introduction to Maldivian cuisine and features popular local dishes such as kandu kukulhu, baraboa mashuni, copy fathu satani, and garudhiya.

The episode also details Maldivian food sustainability practices, the health benefits of Maldivian cuisine, outdoor cooking experiences, and the fresh farm-to-fork experience.

The chef was also joined by the resort manager of LUX South Ari Atoll, Mr Masdhooq Saeed, who spoke about the importance of incorporating sustainable practices into the culinary scene.

MMPRC notes that this episode was digitally promoted on NDTV, NDTVfood.com and their social media platforms- YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Noting that NDTV has been a pioneer in news television and digital journalism for more than 25 plus years in India, MMPRC highlighted this gastronomy episode will help to maintain destination presence on high-impact channels such as TV.

MMPRC states that the episode will also help promote the local cuisine and uniqueness of traditional Maldivian flavors to the Indian market who are eager to explore different cuisines.

MMPRC went onto note that this activity is aligned with their marketing strategies for the Indian market, crafted with a focus on ambiently strengthening the Maldives brand in all major cities via multiple platforms both online and offline. The strategy involves marketing the various products and segments of tourism that the Maldives caters to. These products and segments are marketed to different audiences including those seeking luxury, romantic or budget travel options from the Indian market.

India was the largest market for the Maldives in 2021 in terms of arrivals, with over 278,740 travelers and a market share of 22.6 percent. It is the largest source market for the Maldives this year as well - as of October 2022, India is the top source market for the Maldives with over 186,388 arrivals.

MMPRC has planned several activities targeting the Indian market to maintain destination visibility including marketing campaigns, fam trips, and participation in major fairs and exhibitions held in this market.