Roadshows in three Indian cities, influencer and media familiarisation trips to the Maldives are on the cards as Maldives travel authorities ramp up promotions to woo back Indians following a political spat in January.
Soured relations between India and the Maldives resulted in a slowdown in Indian arrivals in the Maldives, dropping to sixth place as a source market from being the topmost market in 2023.
“We are confident with the support from the industry and the Government agencies, Maldives can regain the current decline in Indian tourists,” said the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) earlier this month in a statement after a meeting with the Indian Ambassador in Male to revitalise this source market.
Maldives’ economy depends largely on tourism, and has been caught in between political rivalry with its two main markets – India and China – after the recently-elected president Mohamed Muizzu won based on a pro-China stance compared to his predecessor favouring India.
In January, after Indian prime minister Narendra Modi sought to promote a series of Indian islands as a tourist destination, his move was criticised by three Maldives’ deputy ministers who were quickly suspended in an attempt by Maldivian authorities to settle the row.
MATATO president Abdullah Ghiyas told TTG Asia that they have finalised one roadshow to be held in Bangalore while the other two will be finalised at meetings with Indian authorities attending the ATM 2024 in Dubai next month.
He said plans are underway to facilitate influencer and media fam trips to the Maldives in the forthcoming months.
MATATO said India remains a vital market for Maldivian tourism, and it looked forward to partnering with prominent travel associations and industry stakeholders across India to further promote the Maldives as a premier travel destination.
Despite the slowdown from India, tourist arrivals in the Maldives overall rose in the period January to March 27, 2024 to 576,952 from 505,083 in the same 2023 period. The main source markers were China, Russia and the UK, Italy, Germany and India.
The Maldives attracted 1,842,169 visitors last year, slightly higher than the target of 1.8 million while this year’s target is set at two million arrivals.
