Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has showcased Maldives at one of the largest tourism fairs in Italy, the TTG Travel Experience held in Rimini from October 10-12. Together with 37 tourism industry partners representing 20 companies across the tourism sector promoted their products in the fair, according to MMPRC.
During the fair, officials met with industry professionals to explore means to further develop and strengthen the presence of Maldives in the Italian market. Apart from the business meetings conducted during the fair and giving out up to date information about the destination, there were activities organised at the stand to attract more visitors, who were given the opportunity to experience Maldives in virtual reality and see the underwater beauty of the country through VR gear.
Being one of the leading tourism fairs in Italy, TTG Travel Experience is the leading tourism trade fairs and is the gateway to the Italian outbound market. The fair provided one of the main B2B tourism marketplaces in Italy to sell tourism products, to network, win new business, as well as exchange views and find new ideas.
Although the target is mainly the Italian market, the event also gave the unique opportunity to meet with representatives from various sectors of the tourism industry from all over the world. With more than 2,550 exhibitors from 150 destinations represented at the fair, more than 72,000 visited this year. These include 1,500 buyers from 90 countries, 750 journalists and 300 bloggers. Italy being one of the most important and top tourism generating source markets, the fair was the second main activity Maldives participated in Italy this year.
Italy is one of the major markets to Maldives with a total number of 88,848 tourists having visited Maldives in 2017 which is an increase of 24% compared to the previous year. By the end of August 2018, a total of 69,787 tourists visited Maldives from Italy which is a growth of 19.1% compared to the same period in 2017, according to the latest arrival figures.