Accessibility to resorts in the Maldives will be significantly improved with the opening of Madivaru Airport this month, as the archipelago celebrates its Golden Jubilee.

Flights to and from Male’s Velana International Airport to Madivaru Airport in Lhaviyani Atoll will take just 25 minutes and operate throughout the night. Until now Lhaviyani has been serviced only by seaplanes, where operation is limited to daylight as well as flying from a different terminal at Velana.

The flight schedule will commence with three flights per day, scheduled according to arrivals and departures of international flights to ensure minimal wait times for travellers.

Madivaru Airport has been developed by Kuredu Holdings and will be managed by the national airline Maldivian, following a management agreement signed by Mohamed Moosa, Chairman of Champa Brothers Maldives & co-owner of Crown & Champa Resorts, one of the owners of luxury resorts Kudadoo Maldives Private Island and Hurawalhi Island Resort, as well as Kuredu, Komandoo and Innahura (Crown & Champa Resorts), all located a 10–25-minute speedboat ride away from Madivaru Airport.

Madivaru Airport’s flights have been scheduled to connect travellers flying from several international airlines including Qatar Airways, Emirates and Turkish Airlines. 

World’s Leading Destination

Earlier, Maldives has been named the World’s Leading Destination for the second consecutive year at the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2021 where the Maldives competed against 18 other destinations including Dubai, Indonesia, Spain, Vietnam, USA and Greece.

With its white and pristine beaches, blue seas and idyllic island paradises Maldives is a nation riding high on the waves of being the most preferred holiday destinations. One of the first nations to open its doors since the outbreak of Covid-19, the charm and charisma of this island nation has only ballooned in size.

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations (MMPRC) Thoyyib Mohamed noted that the achievement was made possible due to the concerted efforts of the Government of Maldives, the Ministry of Tourism, other authorities, associations, NGOs and every other tourism sector stakeholder.

He particularly acknowledged the tireless effort of MMPRC employees in maintaining destination presence, marketing the destination as a safe haven, promoting our tourism products and our unique geography and experiences which promoted travellers confidence towards the destination post Covid.

Moving beyond its traditional reputation as a honeymoon destination, the Maldives has been expanding its offering with a host new offerings for a far wider range of tourists. Family experiences, health and fitness packages, solo travel experiences, extensive marine adventures, as well as a highlight on dining and gastronomy have all been adding pace recently, attracting more tourists to this ‘safe and beautiful haven.’

Marketing Maldives

The Maldives has been accelerating its marketing efforts over the past two years, placing heavy emphasis on promoting the ‘unique geographical formation of the Maldivian islands’ and the key USP - ‘one-island-one-resort-concept’. These attractive features helped boost the country as one of the ‘safest’ destinations to travel, taking in account the ripple effects of the pandemic in the global tourism industry.

Last year, the island nation welcomed more than 1.3 million tourists, making it an easy choice of winning the much-acclaimed accolade. As well as its top prize, Maldives also bagged four awards in the Indian Ocean category at the World Travel Awards. These categories are Indian Ocean's Leading Destination 2021, Indian Ocean's Leading Beach Destination, Indian Ocean's Leading Dive Destination 2021, Indian Ocean's Leading Tourist Board 2021. Incidentally, the destination has also won the famed Indian Ocean’s Leading Destination award 14 times over the last 18 years.

Most recently, the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC / Visit Maldives) signed a global advertising agreement with BBC Global News, incorporating their in-house commercial content studio, BBC Storyworks, to launch an international campaign designed to showcase the nation as a safe, prepared and welcoming luxury destination, through the voices of the people of the Maldives.

Activities within this campaign are further aligned with MMPRC’s global marketing strategies, focused on maintaining tourism sustainability, from December 2021 through to March 2022. During the campaign, relevant and engaging content about the people, places and culture that make the Maldives diverse and unique.

The campaign aims to further promote the Maldives as the ideal travel destination that caters to the needs and wants of travellers 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 such as resorts, hotels, guesthouses and liveaboards. It will also highlight the geographically scattered nature of the island nation, which provides natural social distancing for travellers.

Additionally, MMPRC launched a special social media series bringing live experiences from the Maldives to viewers from around the world. The series, titled “Experiences Live from Maldives”, is targeted at a global audience to engage and apprise them of authentic experiences that tourists can partake in the Maldives.

The series are being streamed in 10 episodes (each 45-60 minutes in duration) on Facebook and YouTube and shared via MMPRC’s social media channels including Weibo, WeChat (China), and other localised social media handles for Japan and South Korea. Key target markets for the series include Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Middle East, Russia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Scandinavia, UK, and USA.

As the parent 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, familiarisation trips, marketing campaigns, webinars, and interviews.

MMPRC and the Maldives Tourism Industry’s concerted drive to provide visitors with options to relax and rejuvenate after the effects of the global pandemic bore fruit as hundreds of thousands of visitors flocked to the Maldives with the assurances of a safe vacation. Thanks to ‘natural social distancing’ as an archipelago nation, the safety of holidaymakers in the Maldives is further enhanced under our distinctive ‘one island, one resort’ concept and close attention to Covid safety guidelines at every turn.

The Golden Jubilee celebration of tourism in the Maldives is already underway with new and exciting activities throughout the year. MMPRC has planned over 60 in-person events, including more than 10 fairs, roadshows, and events scheduled for just the first quarter of 2022.– TradeArabia News Service