Maldives Tourism Promotion Board together with the embassy of Maldives in Japan organized road shows in three major cities in Japan. The road shows were held in Nagoya, on 27th November, in Osaka on 28th November and in Tokyo on 29th November 2007. The road shows were attended by more than 200 Japanese travel trade, media and representatives from Maldives tourism industry. The road show in Tokyo was done in association with Sri Lankan Airlines. The Executive Director of MTPB Dr. Abdulla Mausoom headed the Maldives delegation.

The road shows in Japan were held at the following hotels:

1. Nagoya – The Grand Court Hotel Nagoya
2. Osaka – The Ritz Carlton Hotel
3. Tokyo – The Hilton Tokyo Hotel

The Nagoya road show was attended by 50 participants, the Osaka road show was attended by 70 and the Tokyo road show was attended by 90 participants. The purpose of the road shows was to disseminate information on the developments of Maldives tourism industry to the Japanese travel, trade and media. It also enabled the Japanese tour operators and travel agents to gather specific information on the wonderful tourism product that Maldives has to offer. The winner o lucky draw held during Tokyo road show received a holiday for two in Maldives. It holiday was sponsored by Platinum Capital Holdings Vilamendhoo Island Resort and air ticket was sponsored by Sri Lankan Airlines.

Japanese is the leading destination from Asia region to the Maldives. Maldives welcomed 34,057 Japanese visitors by the end of October 2007. Last year 39,528… number of Japanese visitors visited Maldives from Japan.

Participation at the Bahrain International Travel Expo (BITE), held at the Kingdom’s International Convention Centre, was the last of three events to be organised by the Maldives Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB). Following the successful conclusion of their participation at the Arabian Travel Market 2007 in Dubai, MTPB took eight resorts and destination management companies on a road show to Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. The companies involved were: Naiade Resorts, Villa Hotels, Island Holidays, Cross Asia Travel, AAA Hotels and Resorts, Sun Travels & Tours and Crown Tours.

Mohamed Adam, Deputy Director, Maldives Tourism Promotion Board commented. “From May onwards, consumers across the Gulf region are beginning to plan and book their summer holidays. So far, the visitor numbers to the Maldives from this region are small, however there is great potential. We are confident that our events in Qatar and Kuwait, as well as our participation at BITE, 2007 will have significantly improved destination awareness among resident expatriates and Gulf nationals.”

The Maldives Tourism Road Show started in Qatar on the 6th May, with a reception and dinner at the Movenpick Tower & Suites in Doha. More than 150 travel agents and tour operators were invited to a presentation on selling the Maldives to travellers from the Gulf Region. Emphasis was placed on the warm welcome that GCC nationals and resident expatriates will receive when visiting the islands. The Republic of the Maldives is an Islamic nation, providing Arab travellers with easy access to Mosques, even on the resorts islands

Mohamed Adam continued by saying “The flying time to the Maldives is around four hours from the Gulf region. With daily flights from a combination of airlines, the consumer has plenty of choice on how to get there.” Our aim at the road shows was to ensure that as many travel agents and tour operators as possible have the tools they need to be able to effectively promote our island resorts.” Mohamed Adam added “The Maldives is currently the ultimate getaway for those who are attracted by private islands, stunning beaches and crystal clear waters. The Maldives provides the perfect backdrop for a relaxing, rejuvenating holiday, which is a welcome contrast to the frantic pace of life in the Arabian Gulf.”

Similar format was adopted for the event in Kuwait on the 7th May, where more than 100 travel agents and tour operators were invited to the Holiday Inn Downtown in Kuwait City. MTPB’s participation at the BITE 2007 was from the 8th to the 10th May and provided Maldives Tourism with an opportunity to show case the destination to visiting travel trade, meetings and incentives buyers as well as consumers from Bahrain and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Official attendance figures have yet to be confirmed however they were expected to be up on last year’s number of 16,800 visitors.

The Maldives Tourism Promotion Board has recently appointed Afkar Marketing Company W.L.L. as its PR & Marketing Agency for the Gulf Region. Mohamed Adam concluded by saying “Our focus now is to ensure that the travel trade in the GCC understands the Maldives product and how to sell it effectively to both expatriates and GCC nationals resident in the Gulf region”. He added “Our presence in the region will ensure that we actively promote the ongoing infrastructure developments in the Maldives and as new resorts are opened, we grow visitor numbers by working closely with our travel trade partners”. We are confident that our efforts over the past week will have taken us a step further to achieving this goal”

The Maldives Tourism Promotion Board’s presence at this year’s Arabian Travel Market in Dubai was its strongest ever. From the 1st to the 4th May, 2007 the Maldivian delegation profiled a wide range of products and services to the Gulf region’s travel trade. A total of 44 participants from the hospitality industry, representing some 24 companies, were on the stand to meet with tour operators, travel agencies and media.

The 2007 Arabian Travel Market confirmed record breaking attendance figures of more than 12,000 visitors during the first three days of the show which were focused on visiting travel trade. There was a significant growth in visitors from around the Gulf region, which reflects each country’s buoyant economy and the strong demand for outbound travel. The Maldives is a relatively new leisure destination for the Gulf Region and the Maldives Tourism Promotion Board is now placing greater emphasis on driving destination awareness across the Gulf Co-operative Council (GCC) countries of the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

The Maldives is easily accessible from the Arabian Gulf with a short flight time of around four hours. With daily flights from a combination of airlines, the consumer choice continues to grow as more tour operators and travel agencies feature the destination. The Maldives is currently the ultimate getaway for those who are attracted by private islands, stunning beaches and crystal clear waters. The Maldives provides the perfect backdrop for a relaxing, rejuvenating holiday, which is a welcome contrast to the frantic pace of life in the Arabian Gulf.

Travellers from the GCC account for a small part of the current total visitor numbers to the islands. However, with a high percentage of the population being Muslim and with no visa restrictions, the destination is preparing to attract many more visitors from the Gulf region. Dr Mahmood Shougee, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation for the Republic of the Maldives said “Over the past 30 years, tourism has played a vital role in the sustained development of the Maldives economy. Today we enjoy high hotel occupancy levels and this is set to continue. The low season of June, July and August is relatively short and this coincides with the high season for outbound travel from the GCC.” Dr Shougee added “Our short term strategy is to continue to encourage new business from the Gulf region, by placing greater emphasis on the development of strong relationships with the region’s travel trade. We need to give them the tools to effectively sell the destination.”

Today, the Maldives attracts visitors who want to enjoy the peace and tranquility of an island paradise. With luxury hotels and resorts, award-winning Spa’s and probably the best snorkeling and scuba diving in the world, the Maldives offers total relaxation. Currently, the islands attract more resident expatriates living in the Gulf region than GCC nationals. Dr Shougee commented “Our medium term strategy is to grow the business from the Gulf region by developing resorts which are focused on the preferences of Arab nationals.” “Today we attract Arab honeymooners and water sport enthusiasts, however we see the opportunity to develop family-focused resorts which are located on the inhabited islands, where GCC nationals can interact with the local Muslim community and enjoy many of the activities associated with town life”.

Investment in the tourism infrastructure of the Maldives continues to gather pace. Today there are many new projects underway and future foreign investment is being encouraged by the Maldivian Government. Dr Shougee concluded by saying “GCC real estate developers are currently transforming the face of the Gulf region. We will be sharing our vision for the future development of the Maldives with many of these organisations and offering them exciting investment opportunities here”. “We are confident that the marketing activities that are now being implementing in the region will ensure that there is a greater awareness of our beautiful islands, which will stimulate foreign investment and more inbound travel from both resident expatriates and GCC nationals.”

-ends-

For further information contact:

Mark Senior
Director
Afkar Marketing Company W.L.L.
Tel: +971 502977129
Tel: +973 39630801
e-mail: mark@afkarmarketing.com

Once again the exotic and magnificent Maldives island’s will host one of the worlds best and most anticipated surf events – the ASP 5 Star Prime rated Maldives presents SriLankan Airlines Pro, running from June 3 through to June 9.

Renowned world wide and attracting the very best surfers from right across the globe, The Sri Lankan Airlines Pro delivers the true essence of the sport to the world with perfect surf, amazing weather and possibly the warmest surfing waters in the world - All this on a paradise island setting where the problems of the world disappear and the sport of surfing takes over!

Elite World Qualifying Series competitor Hira Terinatoofa (Tahiti) commented on the SriLankan Airlines Pro saying “Simply awesome! It’s my favorite event on the world tour. Everybody has fun enjoying fantastic surf and it’s just a wonderful experience. It’s just like my home in Tahiti - surf, sun and fun. A great event for surfing!”

The Maldives Islands is open to the entire Indian Ocean swell window and while great surf is consistent throughout the year, the monsoonal June winds have regularly delivered powerful and excellent surf to this event. Last year’s event saw Pasta Point on the Dhonveli Beach & Spa Resort Island add even more quality to the options of excellent surf available and Pasta Point will again be the events base with options to surf other quality surf breaks like Lohifushi, Cokes and Jails!

Just how important this event is to these surfers was highlighted last year when Australia’s Luke Munro won the event and then went on to qualify for the ASP Fosters World Tour. There’s a high degree of prestige attached to winning this event because the waves are so good. It’s the perfect testing ground to highlight surfings best and you’ll only win here if you’re truly a champion of the sport.

This years event sees multiple partners joining forces to ensure the best possible promotion which will include a fully serviced (vision, audio and live scores) live webcast along with an international television production crew who will produce a feature show for the world along with daily news feeds to the world and web highlight packages.

ASP Australasia Tour Manager Glenn Best commented on the event saying “The 2007 SriLankan Airlines Pro event is going to be a fantastic event thanks to the support of our key sponsors in SriLankan Airlines, Maldives Tourism & Promotions Board and John Keels Resorts who have all solidified their commitment in 2007. The Maldives is without question one of the most superb surfing event locations, and each year it continually gives up some of the best WQS waves on the globe, we are so fortunate to be holding the event in such a fantastic surfing location – With the event’s 5 Star Prime Rating bringing the best ASP ranked surfers into the Maldives it creates an explosive surfing event, and it’s all set in an idyllic tropical location. The 2007 SriLankan Airlines Pro event will have daily live vision web cast from the event site at ‘Pasta Point’ on the luxurious Dhonveli Beach & Spa Resort, - put simply, very few other WQS events offer such outstanding surf conditions and all set in 5 Star surroundings”

Just some of the quality surfers already on the entry list include Roy Powers (Hawaii), Leonardo Neves (Brazil), Kai Otton (Australia), David Weare (South Africa), Tim Boal (France), Enecko Acero (Spain), Tiago Pires (Portugal), Abdul El Harem (Morocco), Teppi Tajima (Japan), Brian Toth (Puerto Rico), Alex Grey (USA) and many more for what is possibly the worlds biggest elite representation at an ASP Professional event.

The SriLankan Airlines Pro, sitting right in the middle of the grueling ASP World Qualifying Series Season and almost right in the middle of surfing’s global community which will ensure a super quality event in an amazing location.

The countdown to early June is now on as everyone eagerly plans their pathway on SriLankan Airlines to the magnificent Maldives.

The 2007 Maldives presents the SriLankan Airlines Pro event is proudly supported by SriLankan Airlines, Maldives Tourism & Promotions Board, John Keels Resorts and Atoll Travel.

Watch all the event action live from the beautiful Maldives from 3 – 9 June on www.surfingaustralia.com

Steve Robertson
ASP Australasia, Surfing Australia Media Manager
ASP Int. Digital Photographer

Ten Dive Centers from Male Atoll will be joining thousands of scuba divers,snorkelers and ocean lovers from around the world to celebrate Dive for Earth Day, an international Earth Day event during the week of 22 April.

150 divers from Maldivers Diving Center, Planeta Divers, Divers Lodge, Ocean Diving Desk, Vadoo Diving Club, Sea Explorers Associates, Bolifushi Diving Center, Multi Marine Services, Dive Centre Laguna and the Coast Guard will come together on 22 April 2007 for the underwater clean up of Old Shark Point, a dive site located on the outer reef of Thilafushi Island.

In addition, an awareness program for a 100 students from schools in Malé will be conducted on 23 February 2007.

Dive for Earth Day 2007 is exclusively sponsored by Dive Shop, sole distributors of Scubapro products in Maldives. This event is supported by PADI Project AWARE and Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water.

Our main aim is to bring attention to the growing threats faced by our fragile underwater ecosystems. At the moment the state of our environment is simply a non-issue in the politics of our country. We hope to influence the policy makers to do something about it, says Azim Musthaq, Dive Instructor from Maldivers Diving Center.

This is the first time that divers from such diverse backgrounds are uniting to act together. We hope by the end of this event, we would have built a network of proactive divers who will in the future act in a united effort for the protection of our environment, he says.

For more information please contact:
Azim Musthag,
T: +960 771 9555
E: maldivers@gmail.com.