Hot on the heels of a successful first edition of Travel Trade Maldives (TTM), organisers have announced plans to hold a second edition of the Maldives’ first and only international travel trade show in May 2018.
In a statement, local PR firm Maldives Getaways said Thursday that the second edition of TTM would take place from May 1-3, 2018. It has been extended to a three-day event in order to increase the number of pre-scheduled meetings amongst exhibitors and agents alike, it added.
“It is widely believed that over 150 properties from Maldives will take part in TTM, while over 200 operators, agents and media are expected to be in Maldives for this event,” the statement read.
The first edition of TTM concluded successfully on July 13, with business contracts worth over USD 1 billion discussed during the two-day travel trade show. More than 100 hoteliers held over 3,000 meetings with 150 agents and tour operators from across the globe.
As a major component of TTM, a hotelier summit was held, where tourism industry pioneer Mohamed Umar Maniku delivered the keynote address, while motivational speaker Paul McNeive also addressed the summit. Four panels on pressing issues in the industry took place at the summit in which more than 80 general managers from resorts and hotels across the Maldives took part in.
In addition to the hotelier summit, a tourism career fair was also held as part of TTM, providing job seekers, students, employers, training institutions and government agencies an opportunity to network. More than 2,000 visitors attended the career fair, which was hosted by some 75 resorts.
Meanwhile, TTM gala night, held at Adaaran Select Hudhuranfushi resort on the last day of the event, hosted Maldives Travel Awards – People’s Edition, which recognised 10 outstanding individuals from the hospitality 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.