Travel Trade Maldives (TTM) 2019 will be held next April, organisers announced Tuesday.
In a statement, local PR firm Maldives Getaways said the third edition of the first and largest international trade show in the Maldives will take place from April 20–22, 2019. Like previous years, components of the fair will be held at multiple venues, including resorts and capital Male, it added.
Held from April 30 to May 5, TTM 2018 received tremendous support from industry professionals.
The second edition gathered more than 400 industry professionals from top 150 resorts, leading local and international tour operators and travel agents, media partners, and airlines as well as other key industry stakeholders. Using the handy Connect software, exhibitors conducted over 4,000 pre-scheduled meetings with the most influential decision-makers in the industry for three days.
“It is expected that 2019 would see a much larger audience with top agents from all top 20 markets to the Maldives,” Maldives Getaways said, in its statement.
TTM 2018 kicked off on April 30 with a summit dedicated to tackling the most pressing issues in the world-renowned holiday destination. Over 150 industry professionals attended the summit, which served as a solution-oriented platform to think ahead and explore the future of tourism and hospitality industry of the Maldives.
“The 2019 Hotelier Summit would be focused on Tech, revenue management and hotel automation,” the statement read.
The inaugural Maldives Supplier Expo was held during TTM 2018, with the participation of 23 local and international suppliers. More than 70 officials from purchasing, procurement, accounts, finance, F&B and engineering departments of leading hotels and resorts in the Maldives attended the expo and conducted pre-scheduled meetings with the suppliers.
“The 2nd edition of Supplier Expo will be held during TTM 2019,” the statement read.
While the pre-scheduled meetings took place from May 1-3 at the main convention centre of Dharubaaruge in Male, all participants of TTM 2018, including local and international exhibitors and visitors as well as partners, attended the TTM Gala Night hosted by Adaaran Select Hudhuranfushi resort. The gala night featured an elegant multi-cultural banquet, live music and the chance to network with industry stakeholders.
“While over 350 individuals attended the Gala night, a similar crowd is expected at the 3rd Gala Night to be held on the 22nd April 2019,” Maldives Getaways said.
TTM, which was launched last year by local PR firm Maldives Getaways, aims to facilitate the tourism industry of Maldives to reach the ultimate target of two million tourists per year with over USD 3.5 billion in receipts by the end of 2020.