Bank of Maldives (BML) on Tuesday signed up as a platinum partner of Travel Trade Maldives (TTM), the first ever international travel trade show of Maldives.
An agreement was signed by BML and local PR firm Maldives Getaways, which is organising the annual fair, at a ceremony held Tuesday morning at the bank’s headquarters.
As part of this agreement, BML will also become the title partner for “BML Hotelier Summit Maldives 2017”, a special forum within TTM where leading hotel owners and operators will discuss ways to address the challenges faced by the industry.
At the signing ceremony, BML CEO and Managing Director Andrew Healy said his bank is proud of its partnership with Maldives Getaways. The bank is delighted to lend its support to the tourism industry’s ambitious goal of attracting two million arrivals per annum by 2020, he added.
“The Maldives already enjoys a wonderful international profile and reputation as a top class tourist destination. This fair will help local industry stakeholders to strengthen further their international connections in order to promote the country in even more markets,” Andrew said.
BML, the largest bank in the Maldives, operates a nationwide network of 34 branches across all 20 atolls, 86 ATMs, 4,000 POS merchants, 200 cash agents, 28 self-service banking centres and five Dhoni banking units that serve outer atolls and remote islands, as well as a full suite of digital and online banking services.
Set to be held at the main convention centre in capital Male Dharubaaruge from July 12-13, TTM will connect Maldivian tourism industry stakeholders with a global network of travel agents. Over 300 hoteliers, suppliers and travel professionals from the Maldives and abroad are expected to attend the event.
In addition to the Hotelier Summit, TTM will host Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Academy for the first time in Maldives. TTM gala night, to be held at Adaaran Select Hudhuranfushi resort, will host Maldives Travel Awards: People’s Edition which recognises 10 outstanding individuals from the hospitality industry.
A tourism career fair will also be held as part of TTM, providing job seekers, students, employers, training institutions and government agencies an opportunity to network. The career fair will be exhibited by resorts, liveaboards, leading hotel chains and service providers in the tourism industry.
Maldives recorded 1.2 million tourist arrivals in 2016 with a total of receipts around USD 2.5 billion. With the rapid changes in global travel markets, Maldives continues to strengthen its foothold as one of the leading tourist destinations in the world. While tourism still remains the leading economic industry in the country by far, innovative new approaches in marketing are required to ensure the sector remains at the top.
TTM aims to facilitate the tourism industry of Maldives to reach the ultimate target of two million tourists with over USD 3.5 billion in receipts by the end of 2020.