The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), Thoyyib Mohamed, has highlighted the remarkable progress made in the recovery of the Maldivian tourism sector following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He made the remarks at a high-level panel discussion titled Destination Marketing in the age of COVID-19 at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Destination Marketing Forum 2022 (PDMF).
Speaking at the session, Thoyyib recalled how MMPRC handled the COVID-19 crisis amidst the pandemic, and the many successes and accolades achieved during the time including; being stamped with the Safe Travels label on September 18, 2020, by the World Travel Tourism Council; the fully digital campaign “Maldives; The Sun Will Shine Again” watched live by over 850,000 people across the world; and the highly-successful ‘I’m Vaccinated’ COVID-19 vaccination drive conducted together with the Ministry of Tourism.
Furthermore, Thoyyib stated the focus during the past year has been on working together to tackle the challenges faced by COVID-19. He said the efforts to recover the country’s tourism sector have been extremely successful, noting the tourist arrivals jumped to over 1.3 million in 2021 after dropping to half a million tourists in 2020 due to COVID-19. He added the Maldives is nearing the 1 millionth tourist mark in 2022 already, and closing in on pre-pandemic arrival figures.
In concluding his remarks at the discussion, Thoyyib asserted that the future of the Maldives tourism industry is bright and full of promise and potential. He said that he considers this the perfect time to continue to make the changes needed for the future, to maintain the position ahead of the curve.
The PDMF gathers the top minds in destination travel for discussions on key issues in marketing and managing tourism growth to lesser-known destinations. Beginning on August 4 in Songkhla, Thailand, the event invited high-level executives in global destination travel. The high-level delegates joined the forum for discussions on marketing and managing tourism growth to lesser-known destinations under the theme Building Back Sustainably through Cultural Heritage and Community-based Tourism.