A destination showcase for the Maldives is hosted in Mumbai, India, on Friday, 11th May
2018, branded as Maldivian Night, organized by Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators -MATATO. More than 200 travel professionals from the two countries attended this exclusive event, hosted at the Four Seasons, Mumbai. The is event was organized as part of the ongoing campaign by MATATO to attract 100,000 tourists from India in 2018.
Maldivian Night was presented in part as a business networking event, where Maldivian hoteliers and Travel agents had the opportunity to meet and conduct business with more than 150 prominent travel agents and tour operators from India. 08 Maldivian companies took part in the business networking event concluded with an entertaining evening, to promote and feature the Maldives and was joined by Indian media representatives from International travel brands based in Mumbai.
The Maldives attracted 83,019 tourists from India in 2017 which 24% growth from previous year. India has become a bigger source market to Maldives than more traditional markets like Switzerland, Russia, Japan, Korea. To keep the momentum on this growth, MATATO took part in 5 travel trade shows in India in the last two years.
- SATTE India – February 2016
- BITB New Delhi, India – October 2016
- SATTE India – February 2017
- India International Travel Mart (IITM) Bangalore, India – July 2017
- SATTE India – January 2018
MATATO also recently organized a roadshow in India. The roadshow was in partnership with OTR in three cities in India – Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi from 19 – 22 March 2018. The association has also been working closely with the Embassy of India in the Maldives to promote the Maldives in India. The association has also engaged with a PR firm in
India for various publicity and promotions.
“We are really excited about having stepped up Destination Marketing e orts this year. And we look forward to continuing on this branding of events at major travel markets for the Maldives. This year so far we have been very loud in our marketing activities in the Asia Pacific region especially in India” Said Abdulla Ghiyaz Riyaz, President of MATATO.
In addition, MATATO enjoys a strong partnership with the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI). The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) was established in 1986. It is a dynamic organization that guides the travel industry in India. TAFI’s membership today comprises of 1400 Active, Associate, Allied and Affiliate members from all over
India. MATATO is working closely in promoting the Maldives to Indian travel agents and tour operators with a more aggressive outreach campaign.
The association targets to reach 100,000 tourists from India by end of 2018 thus working closely with various stakeholders to reach this target especially Ministry of Tourism and MMPRC. The association also believes India has the potential to become the
number one source market for the Maldives in the next Five years.
