Maldives Rolls Out the Welcome Mat for the First Tourist of the Year

The Maldives has welcomed Benjamin Duncan Moore, the first tourist of 2024.

Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/ Visit Maldives) held a special celebratory event at Velena International Airport yesterday morning to mark the momentous occasion. 

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British native Benjamin arrived this morning on flight EY278 from Abu Dhabi. This is his first trip to the Maldives, and he is here for a leisure holiday at Villa Nautica. 

He was greeted at the airport by officials from the Ministry of Tourism and MMPRC, along with representatives from Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), Maldives Immigration, Dhivehi Raajjeyge Gulhun Public Limited (Dhiraagu) and CROSSROADS Maldives. 

The first tourist received a complimentary holiday from CROSSROADS Maldives with a stay in SAii Lagoon Maldives and in Hard Rock Hotel Maldives. Other special gifts were also conferred to the first tourist of 2024, including gifts from the Ministry of Tourism, MMPRC, MACL, Maldives Immigration and Dhiraagu.

MMPRC conducted 402 marketing campaigns last year, including fairs, roadshows, familiarisation trips, marketing campaigns, webinars, and interviews, with a combined reach of 46,791,558,024. Late last year, the Maldives secured the title of WTA’s ‘World’s Leading Destination’ for the fourth year in a row.

In addition to securing The World’s Leading Destination 2023 title, MMPRC was honoured as the World’s Leading Tourist Board 2023, marking the second consecutive year winning this prestigious title.

The Maldives also received the newly-introduced Global Tourism Resilience Award at this event, given to the 5 leading destinations and countries for strategically building capacity to recover swiftly and thrive after disruptions. 

Throughout the past year, the Maldives has also won multiple other awards, while resorts, properties, tour operators, and travel agencies have also won individual awards in the global tourism arena.

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