Visit Maldives Travel Expo kicks off in Malaysia

Visit Maldives Travel Expo (VMTE) 2019, on Friday, opened its doors to the public. Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) in association with AirAsia, will host the event till Sunday.

Held at the IOI City Mall in Putrajaya, 17 participants across the Maldivian tourism industry such as tour operators, travel agencies, resorts and guesthouses are exhibiting at the event.

The expo was inaugurated through a ribbon cutting ceremony by the Managing Director of MMPRC Thoyyib Mohamed, AirAsia's Regional Commercial Director Amanda Woo and Maldivian Ambassador-Designate to Malaysia Visam Ali.

Whilst Friday is dedicated for invitees, the event will open its doors to the public on Saturday and Sunday.

Targeting Malaysian travel trade and consumers, VMTE aims to establish Maldives as a top destination for travellers. The event will promote industry partners to network and collaborate together, while visitors can access holiday packages to the Indian Ocean archipelago.

According to MMPRC, VMTE is a newly established platform that can be utilized to facilitate business opportunities to introduce Malaysian and South East Asian travel markets to Maldives. The corporation highlighted the region as a new area of focus for travel tourism in the country.

"This initiative, together with numerous other activities planned for the rest of the year is anticipated to bring about a significant boost in this important regional market".

Exhibitors include AAA Hotels and Resorts, Coral Island Maldives, Crown and Champa Resorts, Furaveri Island Resort and Spa, Guest House Association of Maldives, Lets Go Maldives Pvt Ltd, Liyela Retreat, Plumeria Hotels and Resorts, Reollo Travel Pvt Ltd, Resort Life, Season Paradise, Seven Ocean Travel, Splendid Asia, Sun Travel and Tours, Travel Connection Maldives, UI Maldives and Villa Hotels and Resorts.

As part of its promotional activities, AirAsia is offering a 20 percent discount on all flights to Maldives booked during the travel fair.

Moreover, a raffle draw will select winners for a free holiday sponsored by Furaveri Island Resort and Spa, Paradise Island Resort and Spa and Plumeria Maldives along with free air tickets through AirAsia.

At the end of 2018, 93,398 arrivals were recorded from the South East Asia market, a growth of 13.7 percent compared to 2017.