Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC / Visit Maldives) and 21 participants representing 13 companies have taken part in the World Travel Market (WTM) Africa from 3-5 April 2023 at Cape Town, South Africa. Taking part in WTM Africa will help strengthen the Maldives brand presence in the South African market, connect with the travel trade, and offer information on the latest updates from the Maldives tourism industry.
With over 6,000 travel industry professionals, WTM Africa is Africa’s leading and only business to business (B2B) exhibition for inbound and outbound African travel and tourism markets. WTM Africa was launched in 2014 under the Africa Travel Week umbrella to bring the benefits and opportunities of the global industry expertise to travel professionals in this region. Corporate travel decision makers, potential investors, tour operators and travel agents with VIP clients, and other travel trade industry professionals will take part in the fair.
Maldives was exhibited at a 60 sqm stand designed to showcase the beautiful scenery of the Sunny Side of Life. The stand had been curated to provide the ideal area to experience the beauty of the Maldives while having productive meetings, and participating in events such as trade surveys, social media amplification promotions. Visit Maldives, along with their industry partners, showcased the products, experiences, and segments of Maldivian tourism. Industry partners also had the opportunity to connect with the South African market and develop business relations that can help strengthen the tie between Africa and the Maldives.
MMPRC’s participation in WTM Africa will help establish Maldives as a top destination for potential long-haul holiday makers, achieve targeted growth for tourism products, and increase arrivals in various segments.
South Africa is a promising market for the Maldives as it shows consistent growth over the years and South African travellers express strong interest towards the Maldives as a holiday destination. The Maldives has welcomed 1,917 arrivals from the South African market by 25th March 2023. In the effort to promote the Maldives in this market, MMPRC has been carrying out a campaign with Voyages Afriq, an African travel and tourism media, and they have planned a joint campaign with Thompsons Holidays for 2023 targeting South African travellers.
