Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has taken part in the Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) and is gearing up to conduct a Maldives Roadshow in India. TTF is held from July 1-3 in Kolkata with 13 industry partners, and the Maldives Roadshow will take place in Bangalore, Chennai, and Trivandrum on July 5, 7, and 8 respectively.
The Maldives is being exhibited as the partner country for the exhibition. MMPRC, along with Riu Maldives and Sun Siyam Iruveli will be giving a special destination presentation to the visitor audience during the event, detailing the incredible holiday experiences available to visitors from the World's Leading Destination 2020 and 2021.
TTF held in Kolkata is India's leading exhibition for the travel and tourism industry. It provides an annual opportunity for organisations from India and abroad to showcase their products and services. As such, visitors can gather information and make national and international travel plans. TTF presents an unparalleled marketing opportunity for exhibitors to connect directly with the largest gathering of prospective travellers and members of the travel industry. The visitor profile for TTF includes tour operators, travel agents, airlines, hoteliers, and other travel and trade professionals and stakeholders.
After concluding TTF in Kolkata, MMPRC will hold a roadshow in three cities of India under the theme Connect with Maldives, Your Ultimate Destination Maldives Roadshow in India, together with potential operators and agents from India. The roadshow will be held on July 5 in Bangalore, July 7 in Chennai and July 8 in Trivandrum, alongside 16 industry partners. During the roadshow, MMPRC and industry partners will showcase a destination presentation highlighting the products, experiences, and latest travel guidelines on the Maldives. The presentation will be followed by a productive night of networking and building new business relations, and a special raffle will be conducted awarding a free holiday in the Maldives.
During these events, MMPRC said it aims to maintain the destination presence and promote the Maldives as the world’s leading destination in the Indian market alongside industry partners. Participation in the event also comes as part of the marketing strategy for the Indian market, which is based on conducting ambient campaigns to strengthen the brand in all major cities, identify channels to access the luxury market segment, promote affordable holiday options and focus on specific advertising for honeymooners and family holidays, combined with guest house stays.
India was the largest market in 2021 with over 278,740 travellers and a market share of 22.6%, and is the largest source market for the Maldives in 2022 as well, thus far. As of June 8, the Maldives has welcomed 104,800 tourists to the country from India, ranking as the top source market to the country and contributing 14.3% of the total market share for the period. MMPRC has planned several activities targeting the Indian market in the effort to maintain destination visibility. The efforts include ongoing joint-marketing campaigns with prominent partners such as Thomas Cook, Pickyourtrail, and Vistara Inflight Magazine, participation in major fairs such as South Asia's Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) and Outbound Travel Mart (OTM), and hosting familiarisation trips.