Most countries have now relaxed travel restrictions imposed at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Maldives, a popular travel destination known for its sunny beaches and blue waters, is poised for an influx of tourism after the ease of Covid restrictions. The Maldives reopened its borders to international tourists in July 2020. Over 6,000 visitors have traveled to the Maldives from the Emirates since then. The Maldives are easily accessible to tourists from the United Arab Emirates, making it a popular travel destination.
According to data released by the Maldives Ministry of Tourism, over 359,000 tourists have visited the Maldives so far this year, compared to 241,407 arrivals in 2021 for the same period. This year, the Maldives aims to welcome 1.6 million tourists from around the world. YouGov’s Travel and Tourism: Brand and Destination Rankings 2022 reveals that the Maldives has secured a spot in the top 10 destinations for travelers from the United Arab Emirates. This indicates an expected increase in the number of tourists traveling to the Maldives from the United Arab Emirates.
Visit Maldives is gearing up to create more opportunities for tourists to choose the Maldives as a preferred destination for travelers from the UAE region. Visit Maldives joined the 10th edition of the MICE Arabia and Luxury Travel (MALT) Congress as an Official Destination Partner, which took place on March 30-31 in Dubai.
The MICE Arabia and Luxury Travel Congress is an annual event for buyers and suppliers in the Middle East, with expert sessions and business meetings. An ideal platform for networking, it is the region’s most exclusive event for individuals in the B2B space. An engaging experience for travel industry attendees, MALT is a two-day event organized to make connections, network to discuss luxury travel and be on top of the travel game. It enables suppliers to meet and attract buyers for meetings, events, incentives and business and luxury travel from the Middle East to their destination. As for buyers, they can choose from a multitude of options in terms of cost optimization, revenue models, pre- and post-pandemic technologies, thus following the evolution of travel industry trends. The landmark tenth edition of the MALT Congress saw the participation of over 200 buyers from across the GCC.
Thoyyib Mohamed, CEO and Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation, explained why the Maldives is consistently recommended as an attractive destination for travelers from the Middle East. “The Maldives are bursting with freshness. One of the main reasons for the success of the Maldives in the tourism industry is that our industry offers a piece of paradise for all types of travelers, regardless of their budget. We officially launched homestay tourism this year, and last year we launched our “Redefining MICE” campaign.
