Maldives takes parts at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) which is the leading international travel and tourism event for the Middle Eastern market. Alongside Visit Maldives, 69 partners representing 37 tourism establishments from the many sectors of the Maldives Tourism Industry are being showcased under the Maldives.
Maldives was represented by an eye catching stand which displays the tourism products and unique experiences in a 420 square meter stand made specially to display the beauty and wonders of Maldives through vibrant imagery and imaginary with a state of the art 360-degree touchless experience for the visitors. At the exhibition, business meetings are conducted at the designated B2B area of each individual stand whilst information about the destination is given over the reception counters. Visit Maldives gave media interviews and took part in the panel discussions at the global stage as well.
Following Visit Maldives health and safety guidelines for in person events to ensure the health and safety of everyone present and the new ATM’s rules, the Maldives stand was arranged to accommodate a certain number of visitors at a scheduled time followed by regular sanitized surfaces.
This year’s ATM is run as a crossbreed event, where the live event is taking place at the Dubai World Trade Center from 16th to 19th May 2021 and a virtual event including webinars and 1-2-1 video meetings set to take place a week later, from 24th to 26th May 2021. This is also the first noteworthy in person event for the Arabian Travel Market which opens the doors for the global travel trade to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business through a series of on stand meetings, interactive displays, seminars, panel discussions, networking sessions and much more. During the four-day affair, participants will have the opportunity to showcase their products, network with various industry experts, generate new business deals as well as engage in B2B sessions.
The Middle Eastern Market has factually been an important source market for the Maldives and thus remains as one after the boarders have opened. As a means to maintain brand visibility to ensure Maldives as a top of the mind destination, unceasing marketing activities are conducted which targets the Middle Eastern Market. Corresponding with ATM, Visit Maldives is set to host a press conference and Roadshow in Dubai on 17th May. As for the completed and ongoing agenda targeting the Middle Easter Market- Visit Maldives had recently organized a media familiarization trip and has two ongoing marketing campaigns for the Middle Eastern region with Wego and Sky News Arabia.
In 2020, 26,288 tourists visited Maldives from the Middle East with core markets from the region being among the leading source countries to the Maldives in terms of arrivals post the lockdown period. As a result of mass vaccination drives, easing of travel restrictions and direct flight connectivity, the goal of reaching pre-pandemic arrival numbers from the Middle East shows consistent potential. As of 12th May , Maldives has welcomed a total of 418,579 visitors and among that 7,729 arrivals were recorded from the Middle East market.
Maldives reopened its borders for tourists of all nationalities on 15th July 2020, with rigorous procedures in place to ensure the safety of tourists and tourism workers. Tourists are required to fill an online health declaration form within 24 hours prior to their departure, as well as have a negative PCR test result, conducted 96 hours prior to their departure.
The administration of the Covid-19 vaccine was initiated on 1st February 2021 with the government of Maldives set to provide free COVID-19 vaccines to all citizens and residents of the country in the upcoming months.
Visit Maldives together with the Ministry of Tourism launches “I’m Vaccinated” campaign in order to share a positive message regarding the vaccination of staff working in the tourism sector as well as promoting the initiatives undertaken to ensure the Maldives remains one of the safest destinations in the world for travelers. The ultimate target is to make Maldives the destination with the first fully vaccinated tourism sector in the world.
Visit Maldives took part in @ATMDubai, the region's largest travel and tourism showcase. Visit us at AS3350, Hall 3, Dubai World Trade Centre to get the latest travel news and updates from the sunny side of life!#ATM2021 #ATMDubai #Maldives #VisitMaldives #SunnySideOfLife pic.twitter.com/7l8v4E4g2X
— Visit Maldives (@visitmaldives) May 16, 2021
