The island nation of the Maldives celebrates National Pavilion Day today.

An official ceremony was held in the Expo Center this morning. Maldives would showcase the country’s cultural heritage and society to the world via the platform of the Expo, Mahmood Razee, Maldives’ Minister of Economic Development, said at the ceremony.

Mahmood Razee

Shao Qiwei, director of China’s National Tourism Administration, said Chinese and Maldivian people have long-term friendly exchange and he believed visitors would learn more about the country’s modern lifestyle via its exhibition.

The Maldives Pavilion is in the Asia Joint Pavilion I in Zone A.

The pavilion theme is “Maldives, Tomorrow.”

In the past decade, the Maldives has grown into a model of tourism and environmental protection with tourism and fishery as the pillars of its development. It is also a leader in the fight against global warming, since rising waters encroach every year on the small island.

The pavilion showcases the country’s modern life by describing efforts in cultural preservation and environmental protection while developing industries.

Displays include folk art.

Marine resources include tuna, skipjack, lobster, shark and hawksbill sea turtles.

Source: en.expo2010.cn

Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan, who is also very popular in the Maldives and across the world, is set to perform in the country on June 6, event organisers have announced.

The music show, titled “Mega Music Show 2010″, is being organised by Inex Private in collaboration with Arts Solution and the Maldives Swimming and Life Saving Skills Training School. It will be the first time that Shahrukh Khan has performed in the Maldives. Rallies and other promotional events are already being held across Malé to gain more exposure for the event. The show is scheduled to be held at the empty lot called “Gaakoshi” in Ameenee Magu, next to Sinamalé apartments.

In addition to the Bollywood superstar, popular local bands and dance groups will also be performing at the show, according to the organisers.

Tickets for the show, costing Rf 800 for “general entry” tickets and Rf 1,000 for “VIP” tickets, are available now at the following shops in Malé: Venus, Venus Style, College, and Kids Republic.

When asked about the two different “classes” of tickets, an official involved in the event told Maldives Traveller that the VIP tickets were for the front row, the best seats in the house.

Source: www.maldivestraveller.mv

The Maldives is nominated as an Indian Ocean’s Leading Destination in the Word Travel Awards 2009 announced on Friday, July 31, 2009. Maldives is also a favorite nominee form a number of other categories. 16 Maldivian Resorts/Hotels are nominated from 9 different Indian Ocean Categories, including 7 in the Indian Ocean’s Leading Resort category. In total, The Maldives has 35 nominations in Indian Ocean’s category.

Categories in which Maldives is nominated are:

Only a few weeks remain before voting for these categories close on August 14, 2009. The whole tourism industry awaits the 16th Annual World Gala Ceremony, scheduled to be held at the Grosvenor House, London on November 08, 2009. Voting for this monumental event will commence on August 17, 2009.

Find more about the Maldives.

Maldives Tourism Promotion Board participated for the first time at the 13th annual Unique Choice Road Show held in 6 cities of GCC countries namely Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Dammam/Al-Khober, Riyadh, Jeddah from 30th May till 3rd June 2009.

Unique Choice group is identified as one of the top wholesale tour operator in the Middle East region. These workshops are marked as one of the important events each year due to its success targeting tour operators/ travel agents in the GCC region. The main objectives of Maldives participation in the road show was to increase market share from the Middle East countries by providing the travel trade with the most updated tourism information on the Maldives and secure commitments for the future promotions of the Maldives among their clients. Furthermore, to ensure that as many travel agents and tour operators as possible have the tools they need to be able to effectively promote Maldives island resorts.

The workshops started in Abu Dhabi on the 30th May, with a networking session followed by a lunch at the Crowne Plaza in Abu Dhabi. More than 50 travel agents and tour operators were invited to the work shop, while majority of the visitor showed a keen interest in visiting the Maldives booth to collect information. Emphasis was placed on the warm welcome that GCC nationals and resident expatriates will receive when visiting the islands and the easy accessibility to the country in terms of flight connections and visa procedures.

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.

The workshop session was concluded by a raffle draw held among the visitors by giving away several free vacation prizes from the participating hotels/resorts. Among other participants include destination such as Malaysia, Singapore, Oman and a collection of resorts/hotels from these destinations.

Similar format was adopted for the event in Dubai on the same day, where more than 75 travel agents and tour operators were invited to the JW Marriot Hotel in Dubai which was concluded by a dinner.

Last year Maldives welcomed a total of 683,012 visitors while a total of 9,141 tourists represented the Middle East region. By end of May 2009 Maldives received 3,082 tourists from the region showing a growth of 2.5 per cent compared to the same period of 2008.

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.