Maldives wraps up ‘Welcome India’ three-city roadshows

The Maldives has wrapped up the ‘Welcome India’ roadshow series, which targeted travelers from three of India’s biggest cities.

A collaboration between Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO), and the National Hotel and Guesthouse Association of Maldives (NHGAM), the roadshows were held in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

It wrapped up on Saturday.

MMPRC described the roadshow series as a “success.”

According to the national tourism promotion board, the roadshows were aimed at reinforcing Maldives’ position as a premier holiday destination for Indian travelers.

MMPRC, MATATO and NHGAM were joined at roadshow series by 24 industry partners from the Maldives.

The Maldives’ delegation was held by Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal, and Mohamed Khaleel, Advisor to the President on Tourism Development – underscoring the importance of the Indian market for Maldives’ tourism industry.

MMPRC said that the roadshows provided a crucial platform to engage with key travel trade stakeholders and media.

The board actively promoted the Maldives during this roadshow series, prioritizing showcasing the destination’s unique attributes, such as our pristine beaches, exquisite resorts, guesthouses, rich cultural heritage, and vibrant marine life.

In addition to B2B networking and dialogue with collaborating organizations, an exciting raffle giveaway was held at each roadshow, where winners received holiday prizes sponsored by Kandima Maldives, Nova Maldives, Arena Hotels, Kaani Hotels, Villa Nautica, Sirru Fen Fushi, Holiday Inn Kandooma, and Alila Kothaifaru Maldives.

“The overwhelming response from the Indian travel industry reaffirms the strong affinity from the market towards the Maldives as a preferred holiday destination. The roadshows served as a catalyst for new partnerships between the Maldivian and Indian travel trade, strengthening existing ties, and promoting the Maldives’ unique offerings to the Indian market,” said the MMPRC.

Arrivals have dwindled from the India market – which was once the top source for tourist arrivals into the Maldives. The market is currently ranked the sixth top source market, with 72,637 arrivals as of Sunday. This has prompted the MMPRC to focus more promotional activities to attract Indian travelers.

Building on the momentum generated by the roadshows, MMPRC plans to continue to implement strategic initiatives to increase arrivals from the Indian market, and reinstate it as one of the top three source markets for visitors to the country.

Upcoming promotional activities targeting the Indian market includes the Globalspa campaign, joint marketing partnerships with Cleartrip and Pickyourtrail, and familiarization trips – which MMPRC expects to further reinforce the Maldives’ position as the top-of-mind destination for Indian travelers.

Maldives, which won the award for the WTA World's Leading Destination for the fourth consecutive year in 2023, is eying a record 2 million tourist arrivals this year. It is already halfway there, with over 1.2 million arrivals.