MATATO partners with Maldives’ first international tourism fair

Maldives Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) will participate in the Maldives’ first major international tourism fair to be held next year.

Organised by privately owened marketing and public relations firm Maldives Getaways, Travel Trade Maldives (TTM) will be an annual trade fair with the first to be held next July.

In a statement, Maldives Getaways disclosed that MATATO signed on as an associate partner of TTM on Tuesday, joining state-run Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), the nation’s main tourism promotion body.

In a statement, MMPRC said TTM will connect the Maldives’ tourism industry with international agents. The annual fair is designed to lure 2 million tourists to the archipelago by 2020 and increase industry revenue up to USD 3.5 billion.

According to MMPRC, participants in the first TTM include 150 local and international travel agents, top executives of 100 resorts and hotels, 50 reporters and public relations firms.

While TTM is currently in the works, the Maldives had hosted its first travel and tourism fair this year with “Vacations Expo”, which was held August 4 to 6 at the National Art Gallery with 35 entities of the tourism sector participating.

Additionally, Maldives Getaways had also organised the first guesthouse conference of the Maldives which was held previous week Saturday, with over 160 guesthouse leaders in attendance.

While the Maldives plans to lure 2 million tourists over the next four years, tourism has recently fallen into a lull. The government had recently abandoned the previous projection that this year will bring 1.5 million visitors to the Maldives, revising the number to 1.4 million instead.

Official statistics show that tourism, the largest industry of the archipelago, accounts for 40 percent of the Maldives’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While the industry brings in 60 percent of foreign currency to the nation, it also accounts for nearly 90 percent of tax revenue via industry related duties such as land lease, Green Tax and TGST (Tourism Goods and Services Tax).