Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), also known as Visit Maldives, is the national tourism promotion body mandated to carry out the marketing and promotions of Maldives as a tourist destination. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, MMPRC has had to shift gears and approach destination marketing with a different strategy. By adapting to the new normal, the corporation has taken a more digital route to ensure strong presence and maximum visibility within the market.
As such, MMPRC carried out various digital marketing activities and virtual campaigns in key markets across the globe. The activities were designed and executed with the primary aim of maintaining brand strength, promoting Maldives as a safe haven for travelers, and ultimately increasing arrival figures to pre-pandemic levels. MMPRC’s goal is to sustain and enhance the destination’s idyllic image and it’s positioning as one of the most desired destinations in the world. At the same time, the key objective is to reassure travelers that Maldives remains one of the safest destinations to travel to during these unprecedented times.
Over the past year, the corporation has engaged in various digital campaigns with major airlines, tour operators, booking platforms and international medias to target key markets across the globe including Russia, Japan, France, Italy, Switzerland and Indonesia, to name a few. MMPRC also took part in virtual fairs to further boost destination visibility. Furthermore, social media undoubtedly plays a major role in destination marketing these days. MMPRC took full advantage of this by collaborating with platforms around the world, such as the recent collaboration with Tabi Muse, one of Japan’s top travel social media platforms.
The campaigns conducted presented the Maldives as a ‘safe haven’ for holidaymakers. The safety and natural isolation offered to holiday makers due to the country’s unique geography and its one-island-one-resort concept, and the stringent health and safety measures in place have been the key themes in all marketing communications during the period. The content also focused on active updates of the arrival and departure guidelines, with the dual purpose of ensuring clarity and informing guests of the procedures in place, along with impressing upon them the reliability and comprehensiveness of the measures that are in place.
MMPRC has also launched a virtual event management platform during April 2021. This virtual platform, “My Virtual Maldives” is aimed to amplify audience engagement and networking by connecting attendees from across the globe through hosted online events ranging from virtual exhibitions, roadshows, webinars to training and live marketing events targeting travel trade and consumers alike. MMPRC has carried out two webinars for the French market and hosted a virtual fair & roadshow for the South Korean market on this platform. Furthermore, MMPRC has opened up the platforms for local industry partners to host their own events.
By continuously adapting to the changing market situation, MMPRC will continue its strong and persistent marketing efforts in the coming months by targeting B2B and B2C on online as well as offline platforms, as restrictions ease and markets open up. MMPRC’s strategy is to maintain destination presence, increase brand visibility and promote Maldives as the most preferred tourist destination in the world. These activities are also conducted in source markets that are closed at present, to ensure that Maldives is the top of the mind destination to travel, once their borders are open and travel restrictions are eased.
