Visit Maldives partake in the BIT Virtual Edition

From the 9th to the 14th of May 2021, Visit Maldives participated in the BIT Digital Edition 2021. Thanks to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the exercise is being conducted digitally for the first time. The virtual fair, which runs from the 9th to the 11th of May, provides an opportunity to network with stakeholders from the Italian industry as well as from around the world.

With 136,343 arrivals in 2019, Italy was one of the leading markets to the Maldives. The aim of Visit Maldives is to re-establish the Maldives as a popular destination for Italians. A number of initiatives are in the works to encourage the Maldives in the Italian market. Webinars, internet commercials, and cooperative promotions with airlines and tour operators are examples of B2B and B2C operations. Once these steps are relaxed and travel returns, the sector is expected to become a major contributor to arrival estimates once again.

Despite the global pandemic, the Maldives welcomed 555,494 visitors in 2020 and over 190,000 visitors from February 2021. In the coming months, the Maldives government plans to offer free COVID-19 vaccines to all people and residents of the region. These activities support the goal of making the Maldives the world's first entirely vaccinated tourist destination.