Male’, Maldives, 24th November 2022 – On Sunday, Atolls World held a joint event for the Signing Ceremony for ADEX back2blue Maldives Retreat 2023 as well as the Launching Ceremony for the ASIAN DIVER MAGAZINE Maldives Edition, the first of its kind. The event was held at Manhattan Business Hotel in Male’, with the Minister of Tourism, Dr. Abdulla Mausoom, gracing the event as the Guest of Honour. Many other high-level officials from the tourism industry as well as relevant associations such as MATATO, ATA, NBAM, MADO, and diving centers, hotels, resorts, domestic airline partners, were in attendance as well. In addition to this, Mr. John Thet, CEO of Asian Dive Expo (ADEX) was also present at the ceremony.
ADEX back2blue Maldives Retreat 2023
The ceremony began with the Signing Ceremony for the ADEX back2blue Maldives Retreat. ADEX is one of the largest and longest running dive consumer and trade shows in Asia, with a history of 30 years. ADEX back2blue Maldives Retreat 2023 is specially curated for divers and non-divers such as scuba divers alike to embark on an adventure of a lifetime. The inaugural back2blue Maldives Retreat features diving expeditions to five different diving spots in the Maldives. Each of these diving spots selected for the retreat comes with its own unique packages, attractions, and marine life to look forward to.
This retreat celebrates the world’s transition to normalcy and invites everyone to enjoy the beauty and thrill the underwater world has to offer after three long years of tight regulations on diving expeditions. The Maldives is famous for its mesmerizing dive spots, attracting tourists from across the world. When the island nation’s tourism industry began, the destination was known as, first and foremost, a diving destination. This is testament to the beauty that lies underneath the depths of the crystal-clear waters. The ADEX back2blue retreat hopes to allow other dive enthusiasts to experience this for themselves. ADEX’s vision and aim extends beyond experiencing the beauty of the underwater world; it aims to educate and inspire passion in people regarding marine conservation.
There are different packages available for the retreat with accommodation inclusive of 2-3 dives per day, depending on the package. The packages have a stay duration flexibility from 3 nights to 7 nights, with ADEX back2blue’s hotel and liveaboard partners. In addition to this, Atolls World has announced there will be a discounted rate offered to those who register for this retreat through ADEX. The retreat stay period is from 18th March 2022 to 26th March 2023.
ADEX back2blue Maldives Retreat 2023’s Official Partners include:
Dive Center Partners: Dive Club Maldives; Dive Desk; Divers Lodge; Dive Point; Moodhu Bulhaa; Ocean Junkies, and Ocean Warriors Institute
Hotel Partners: Acacia Beach Hotel; Jen Hotel Maldives by Shangri-La; Lonuveli Hotel Hulhumale; Maagiri Hotel; Manhattan Business Hotel; Samann Grand; Hotel Ocean Grand; Samann Host, and The Somerset
Liveaboard Partners:
In the Maldives: Yasawa Princess and Maldives Legend, Maldives Holiday Collection
Exclusive South Korean Market Partner: DiveBnB
Supporting Partners: In Maldives
Digital Travel Partner: Ace Travels Maldives
Online Travel Agent: Make My Trip
Other Partners include: Ministry of Tourism; MMPRC – Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation; MADO – Maldives Alliance of Dive Operators; ATA – Association of Travel Agents; NBAM – National Boating Association of Maldives; NHGAM – National Hotels and Guesthouse Association of Maldives; MAYA – Maldives Association of Yacht Agents
ASIAN DIVER Maldives Edition
The second part of the ceremony focused on launching the ASIAN DIVER Maldives Edition Magazine. ASIAN DIVER Magazine is one of the leading Asian diving magazines and the official publication of ADEX. Established in 1992, the magazine was curated for serious divers who understood the mystery and challenges of the deep. It is published with the aim of creating a community of like-minded people, all passionate about preserving the recreational sport of diving.
20 years later, the magazine has become an international brand commended for the unique, piercing insights and perspectives it provides into the richest dive regions in the world – Asia. The magazine publishes quarterly issues with content focusing on industry members such as dive agencies, equipment manufacturers, and dive operators and instructors.
This year, ADEX and Atolls World are delighted to announce the first-ever Maldives Edition of the ASIAN DIVER is in the works. At the ceremony, Atolls World revealed the cover design for the first issue of the ASIAN DIVER Maldives Edition, which is set to be launched at ITB Berlin in March 2023.
The CEO and Founder of ADEX, Mr. John Thet, shared a few words at the ceremony. He began by explaining the backstory behind the back2blue retreat. “In 2020, we came up with the vision of the back2blue retreat. One thing that impressed me with the Maldives is that the tourism industry continued to strive during the pandemic and continue providing opportunities for divers and travelers, even during the pandemic. That hard work has resulted in Maldives becoming the ‘World’s Leading Destination’ for the third year in a row. When I found out that Maldives’ tourism industry is celebrating its 50th anniversary, it made me think that we should celebrate it and back2blue together. Unfortunately, due to some reasons, we have delayed it to March next year. I really appreciate that a lot of partners are here, and I will try my best to promote everything.”
Furthermore, speaking of the ASIAN DIVER Maldives Edition, John commented he believes the magazine issues serve as a time lens for people, with all issues focusing on a unique topic, giving people information decades later as well. In addition to this, he shared the magazine seeks to introduce something new every 10 years or so. As such, he hopes to launch together with ADEX back2blue Maldives Retreat. The first issue of the ASIAN DIVER Maldives Edition will be published in February 2023 and presented as a giveaway before the back2blue retreat.
The Guest of Honour, the Minister of Tourism also shared a few remarks. “First of all, I wish to thank CEO of ADEX, John Thet, for bringing your vision and thinking to the Maldives, and incorporating it into out beautiful Maldives tourism product. I just had the pleasure of launching the ASIAN DIVER Maldives Edition, to be released next year. I think it is a huge achievement for the Maldives and people love to read and see the beautiful underwater beauty of the Maldives.”
Indeed, the underwater beauty is one that never fails to feel people in awe of it and it keeps attracting visitors from across the world to the destination. The Minister shared that although the Maldives began as a dive destination, it has slowly moved away from the dive market over the years.
“This magazine is chance for the Maldives to get back the dive market, and the ADEX back2blue is a trademark event that will help bring more of the dive market to the Maldives,” said the Minister.
The ceremony was wrapped up by a token of appreciation from the Managing Director of Atolls World, Mr. Bassam Adam. “I would like to thank all the partners and industry members who are here. I am very humbled that all the dive centers showed their support when we embarked on this initiative, especially MADO. Regarding the magazine, the Maldives Edition is an impressive achievement and ASIAN DIVER has a very high readership. In addition to this, we are pleased to announce CudaJet, the world’s first underwater jetpack which will be released in partnership with Maldives Reality. CudaJet’s launch is in line with the training programme Atolls World had launched last month to support divers with special needs.”
With these initiatives by Atolls World, the Maldives now has an even more exciting year to look forward to next year, with both the ADEX back2blue retreat and ASIAN DIVER Maldives Edition. Atolls World hopes to reinvigorate the dive market in the Maldives and looks forward to working together with industry partners to continue bringing forth more new and innovative initiatives.
