Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/Visit Maldives) has kicked off a destination marketing campaign with Kuoni UK, taking place from 28th February for a duration of one month.
Kuoni UK is a tour operator established in 1966, providing premium tourism offers from around the world to UK tourists. Kuoni UK has a network of 48 retail stores and is run under Kuoni Travel, which is a tourism company operating various services including charter and scheduled passenger airlines; package holidays; cruise lines; and hotels in destinations around the world across nine different geographic regions.
The campaign between MMPRC and Kuoni UK aims to promote the Maldives as the ideal travel destination that caters to the needs and wants of travelers in the era of the new normal. It will focus on marketing the destination as a safe haven and promote the experiences unique to the Maldives while providing information on the stringent measures in place for Maldivian tourism products, namely resorts, hotels, guesthouses and liveaboards. It will also highlight the geographically scattered nature of the island nation, which provides natural social distancing for travelers.
During this campaign, dedicated emails with information of the destination will be sent out to the Kuoni database and advertisements, homepage banners and inspirational articles based on the destination will be posted on Kuoni’s social media platforms and website. Furthermore, classified advertisements will be posted on the Sunday Telegraph, while in-store video material featuring the Maldives will be displayed across 26 stores in the UK. The campaign is expected to markedly increase bookings and arrivals from the UK to the Maldives.
Maldives has welcomed 251,339 tourists as of 23rd February 2022. During this period, the UK ranked as the 2nd top source market to the country with an arrival figure of 28,569 tourists, which is a 11.4 percent market share. MMPRC held various activities targeting this market in 2021, some of which includes participation in major fairs such as The National Wedding Show, WTM London 2021 and hosting a MICE Roadshow in the UK, amongst others. Various similar activities are planned for 2022 in order to maintain destination momentum and increase arrivals from the market.
As the company responsible for marketing the Maldives as a destination abroad, 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’ (among several other accolades) at the 2021 World Travel Awards, globally recognised as the hallmark of industry excellence. This is 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 travelers from all over the globe.
This year also celebrates an exceptional year to visit the Maldives – the Golden Jubilee celebration of tourism in the Maldives kicked off earlier last year with plans to conduct new and exciting activities throughout the year. MMPRC has planned over 60 in-person events for the year 2022, including 11 fairs, roadshows and events scheduled for just the first quarter.
