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Tourism

Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has revealed the island destination welcomed 1.6 million guests in 2022 - as the recovery from Covid19 continued. The figure met the target set by president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

MMPRC said the milestone, announced by president Solih in his presidential address in 2022 year, was achieved through the hard work and dedication of government agencies, industry stakeholders and travel trade partners from across the globe.

An event was held to celebrate the arrival of the 1.6 millionth visitor of 2022

Tejas Sanjay Kothari from India arrived in the Maldives for his honeymoon onboard Air Vistara flight UK271. He was conferred special gifts on behalf of MMPRC, the tourism ministry and other stakeholders.

In a further success, the Maldives was also selected by voters at the World Travel Awards as the World’s Leading Destination for the third year in succession in 2022.

Thoyyib Mohamed, MMPRC managing director, stated: “We are celebrating yet another milestone following our recent momentous wins at the World Travel Awards. It is no small feat for a tiny nation like ours to be crowned the World’s Leading Destination thrice in a row.”

He added: “Our perseverance during the harshest of times that the world has seen recently led us to these achievements. All this is undeniably the result of the foresight of the government in policy formulation; implementation during and post-covid; the sacrifices and hard work of employees of the tourism sector; the joint efforts of every single tourism sector stakeholder; and the noteworthy efforts of MMPRC staff and our network of global travel trade partners.

“We move forward now, with even more determination to uphold this level of service excellence.”

Minister of tourism, Abdulla Mausoom, also made a statement regarding the achievement of this national milestone.

“Appreciate the engagement and support of travel and tourism industry stakeholders in achieving yet another milestone of Maldives Tourism success story. Congratulations all! This quick rebound of Maldives tourism to pre-pandemic level is a clear indication of the visionary leadership of president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, sound tourism policies and the strong partnership between the government and the private sector,” the minister said.

In 2021, the Maldives achieved the 1.3 million tourist arrival mark set by the government two months ahead of the forecasted date. In 2022, 1.6 million tourist arrival figure is a 23.1 per cent increase compared to last year.

As of the fourth quarter of 2022, MMPRC had conducted over 171 marketing and promotional activities including 88 marketing campaigns, 41 fairs, six roadshows, ten virtual

17 familiarisation trips and nine other events worldwide to promote Maldives as a tourist destination.

World Travel Awards are globally recognised as the hallmark of industry excellence. This is the third consecutive year that the Maldives had successfully earned the prestigious title, a shining testimony of the trust placed in the ‘magic of Maldivian hospitality’ by travellers from all over the globe.

This year, MMPRC also secured the title of World’s Leading Tourist Board for the first time.

Throughout the year the Maldives has also won several other awards while resorts, properties, tour operators and travel agencies also won individual awards in the global arena.

More Information

Find out more about visiting the Maldives on the official tourism website at www.visitmaldives.com or head over to Hall 5.2/106 at ITB Berlin for a chat with Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation