Maldives welcomes 1 millionth tourist for 2023
Friday, July 21, 2023
The Maldives has achieved a significant milestone in its tourism sector by welcoming its 1 millionth tourist for the year 2023, a remarkable accomplishment considering it was achieved a full month ahead of last year. Mr. Anton Pavlov, a British national, arrived with his family on British Airways flight BA061 to mark the momentous occasion.
The success can be attributed to strategic marketing efforts by the Maldives Marketing & PR Corporation (MMPRC), which implemented a 360-degree marketing approach to maintain destination presence across key markets. The resumption of direct flights between the Maldives and China in January 2023 played a crucial role in driving arrival numbers, with the Chinese market experiencing an astounding 1,659.5% growth compared to the same period last year.
The Visit Maldives Storytellers’ Conference 2023 held from May 30th to June 2nd further contributed to increasing arrivals by generating widespread global coverage through various social media platforms, reaching over 89 million people. This event’s success is expected to lead to increased bookings dispersed throughout different regions of the Maldives.
MMPRC’s dedication to attracting more visitors and collaborating with global stakeholders such as airlines, tour operators, and travel agencies has been pivotal in surpassing pre-pandemic arrival figures in most top source markets. Russia, India, UK, China, and Germany have emerged as the top five markets for the Maldives, with India and Russia competing for the highest arrivals.
In 2022, MMPRC executed 178 marketing activities, and this year alone, they have undertaken 113 diverse marketing campaigns with a combined reach of 4.1 billion in the first half of 2023. With strategic efforts and collaborations in place, the Maldives is on track to meet President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s ambitious target of attracting 1.8 million tourists by the end of 2023.