Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

Maldives launches major promotional drive in Middle East

Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has commenced large-scale promotional campaigns in the Middle East. 
 
The campagin is carried out in partnership with Etihad Airways in the United Arab Emirates and Almosafer in Saudi Arabia. 
 
These activities are designed to promote the Maldives as an attractive destination to the visitor markets in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, said a statement.
 
The campaign in partnership with Etihad Airways is running for a duration of 20 days and it includes digital, social, radio and editorial promotions of the Maldives. The campaign is aimed at attracting visitors to the Maldives from the UAE emiratess - Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain. 
 
The Maldives is one of the most popular destinations on Etihad’s global network. In the first six months of 2019, Maldives saw an increase of 31.6 % in visitors from the UAE compared with the same period in 2018 and this campaign is a big step forward for MMPRC in its efforts to promote the destination, it said.
 
The Almosafer campaign that started on October 15 is a two-month campaign and will conclude on December 15. It includes elements of discounted hotel bookings, promotions across social media platforms, Google marketing, social competitions and Almosafer’s web, app and retail touchpoints. 
 
Almosafer, founded in 2012, has a leading omni-channel travel brand in Saudi Arabia and is a part of the Saudi-based Seera Group, the leading travel and tourism group in the Middle East.
 
MMPRC Managing Director Thoyyib Mohamed, speaking on the importance of the Middle Eastern market of the Maldives, said: “In the first six months of 2019 we have seen a remarkable increase in visitor arrivals from the Middle East --a 19.7% growth compared to last year. We are expecting to see a larger growth in visitors from this market following the marketing campaigns.”  - TradeArabia News Service