Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC / Visit Maldives) has launched a campaign with Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia to increase brand visibility for the Maldives in the SEA market. The campaign, which began in July 2022, will be conducted till the start of 2023.

Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia was launched in 2007. Their winning combination of wanderlust-inducing and fact-driven content drives high audience engagement from countries such as Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Through this campaign, the different segments of Maldivian tourism industry, our products (resorts, hotels, guesthouses and liveaboards), and unique experiences will be promoted to the travel trade and potential travelers from the SEA market. Furthermore, the unique geographical characteristics of our islands, the one-island-one resort concept, and the latest travel information and guidelines will be shared through advertisements and banners on the website and social media of Travel + Leisure, along with e-mailers sent to their database.

This campaign is conducted as part of our marketing strategy for the SEA market, which is based on maintaining and increasing visibility and brand awareness for Maldives and showcasing the uniqueness of Maldives as the world’s leading destination. This strategy targets to promote services offered for luxury travelers, families, and Muslim travelers from this market. The purpose of the strategy is to raise arrival numbers to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year and to reorient the perception of the Maldives solely as a honeymoon or luxury destination.

The Maldives welcomed 18,489 from countries from the SEA market from January to July 2022. As the company responsible for marketing the destination globally, MMPRC has been holding several activities for this market, including joint campaigns with tourism sector stakeholders, organizing familiarization trips, training webinars, and participating in fairs and exhibitions held for this market. In this regard, we have carried out a cabvertising campaign with MyBump Media, participated in MATTA fair 2022, Malaysia International Dive Expo, and Thailand Dive Expo. More activities are in the pipeline for this market for the rest of the year too.

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 recognized 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.