Last minute preparations are underway for the second Hotelier Summit, which is set to be the kickoff event for Travel Trade Maldives (TTM) 2018, organiser Maldives Getaways has announced.
As a major component of the first international travel trade show in Maldives, the Hotelier Summit will be hosted on April 30 from 9am to 1pm at Bandos Maldives resort.
Founder and Director of Crown Company Ahmed Nazeer, who also serves as the Secretary General of Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), will give the keynote address, which will be followed by the platinum partner speech by Maldives Transport and Construction Company (MTCC) CEO Ibrahim Ziyath.
Other speakers include top officials from the tourism ministry, economic ministry, Privatisation and Corporatisation Board, Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) and Maldives Integrated Tourism Development Corporation (MITDC).
Apart from the keynote speeches, four panel discussions are scheduled to take place at the summit.
Amongst the 150 tourism professionals confirmed to attend the summit are resort and hotel owners, general managers and resident managers as well as key international travel trade stakeholders and professionals. The summit will further witness the attendance of international delegates from Booking.com, Expedia, AirAsia, Axisrooms, TUI, Kuoni, TravHQ and LonelyPlanet.
“This is the largest gathering of tourism individuals in the Maldives of which stakeholders would discuss the future of tourism in the Maldives,” Maldives Getaways CEO Dr Hussain Sunny Umar said.
The summit is aimed at addressing the current direction of the Maldivian tourism industry and how to think ahead.
The summit offers a solution-oriented platform that facilitates face-to-face meetings, networking activities and information exchange amongst the most elite assemblage of hotel owners and general managers.
As world tourism sees ever-increasing growth, the Maldives government has plans to develop over 50 resorts before the end of 2018. A major focus of the summit is to address such matters and discuss ways in which demand would meet the rapidly growing supply.