Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) 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 Maldivian 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.
MMPRC said the 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 advantage of being a Safe Haven for travellers to the Maldives. The campaign will also see a dedicated EDM email blast and a bonus two-month MPU 2 banner on the DestinAsian website.
The purpose of the campaign is to maintain brand visibility in the Southeast Asian market and to maximise 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 that allows natural social distancing, to market the individual products including resorts, hotels, guesthouses/homestay, and liveaboards in the market. The strategy is based on informing the travel trade and travelers 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 strategising marketing activities in selected markets to minimise the potential adverse effects on the Maldives tourism industry and the nation’s economy.
From January to March, the Maldives welcomed 3,990 tourists from the Southeast Asian market. MMPRC has successfully completed several marketing campaigns for the 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, 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. 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 at the 2021 World Travel Awards, globally recognised as the hallmark of industry excellence. It was 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 as the Golden Jubilee celebration of tourism kicked off earlier last year with plans to conduct new and exciting activities throughout the year.