The Secretary General of MATI, Ahmed Nazeer said that Maldives need to have direct flights to source markets as this will be the preferred option in the future, especially after the pandemic.
During the TTM Travel Summit 2020 Virtual, Nazeer said that Maldives have room to grow in the worldwide tourism and the importance of properly managing the supply. He stressed that the increase in supply should meet the infrastructure and the expansion of transport network in distant and inter-atoll, in order to meet the growing demand in numbers.
With regards to the current situation of the tourism market, Nazeer said that Maldives have to increase the number of scheduled direct flights to Maldives and divert the traffic to all the international airports operating in Maldives rather than just focusing on Velana International Airport.
Nazeer said that Maldives need to diversify its portfolio by introducing segments such as MICE, sports and cultural tourism. He noted that diversification and adaptability will allow the market to grow and the need to be prepared for different kind of travelers as what they will require will vary.
“One of the salient features of Maldives tourism is the “one island, one resort” concept. Even though we have extended the tourism industry with guesthouses and safaris to diversify the brand—as long as we retain the concept, we will be able to attract high-end tourists that will keep Maldives at the top of the tourism market.”
Nazeer expects that the most of the resorts currently being developed will bring in a new wave of innovation into the industry. He said that, “We should always try to strive to know what our guests will want prior to them requesting for it. Sustainability is the key model to utilize and Maldives should have a visible local presence on the social media networks to properly market the properties.”
He further requested the Government to include an optimum figure of gross revenue to be achieved in the five year period of the next Tourism Master Plan. Nazeer said that this will push the properties to work towards a common goal and will further progress the industry.
