Maldives to give away 52 holidays next year as part of tourism shake-up
Emma DooneyVisit Maldives will give away 52 holidays next year as part of its national tourism board’s strategy to highlight the country’s wide range of travel experiences.
Addressing WTM London, Visit Maldives laid out its plans for the giveaway and said the country’s next chapter would be about more than "just sun, sea and sand".
“It will be an international global campaign across Instagram and TikTok,” Visit Maldives chair Abdulla Ghiyas Riyaz told TTG. “The platform will vary depending on the month. Every week will be a different prize sending the winner to a different part of the Maldives.”
The holiday giveaway is open to people anywhere in the world, and will aim to showcase some of the Indian Ocean destination’s lesser-known treasures. “It’s a perfect opportunity to discover the Maldives as a year-round destination,” Riyaz continued. "The Maldives is eager to appeal to new demographics in 2025, diversifying into various sectors."
These include film tourism, with its business model for tourism development featuring plans for a framework to make it easier for producers to shoot in the Maldives. Other focuses include health, medical and eco-tourism, as well as sports tourism, with the country hopeful of hosting large-scale football and volleyball events.
The Visit Maldives board detailed some of its sustainability ambitions, including a commitment to pursuing carbon neutrality, starting with the objective of ensuring 30% of its energy consumption comes from renewables by 2030.
Elsewhere, the country will seek to increase the capacity of its main international airport – Velana International – which serves capital Male. The addition of a new terminal, which is due to be completed by 2025, will be able to accommodate seven million travellers annually.
As for Male itself, the board’s strategy acknowledges the capital’s congestion issues and the need to focus on other parts of the archipelago for the benefit of both the environmental and residents. Another aim is to make the destination "more affordable" for visitors, who typically have to fly long-haul to reach the country.
The Maldives expects to surpass last year’s 1.8 million visitors and welcome more than two million this year, buoyed by welcoming a record 200,000 guests in February.
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