MMPRC CEO & MD Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed Engages In Panel Discussion At PATA Destination Marketing Forum
Saturday 6th of August 2022
The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed partakes in high-level panel discussion at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Destination Marketing Forum 2022 (PDMF). The theme for this year’s forum is “Building back Sustainability through Cultural Heritage and Community-based Tourism”. The two-day event held annually, provides a platform for learning, discovering and networking in the Tourism sector.
The forum commenced this Thursday and featured high-class executives in international destination travel including H. E Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, the Minister of Tourism and Sports of Thailand and Ms.Supawan Teerarat, the Senior Vice President of MICE Capability and Innovation from Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB). The forum also saw noteworthy speaker such as Ms. Nicola Elliot, the Vice President of BBC StoryWorks and Ms. Naomi Mano, President of the Japan MICE Association and President and CEO of Luxurique Inc. The participants all contributed useful insights into marketing and managing tourism growth in remote little-known destinations.
Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed was invited by PATA as an expert speaker to attend the “Destination Marketing in the age of Covid-19” panel. The panel also included other high-profile names in the industry such as Ms. Noredah Othman, CEO of Sabah Tourism and Mr. Dinh Ngoc Duc, the Director General of Tourism Marketing Department of the Vietnamese National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).
While speaking at the panel, Thoyyib recalled how MMPRC handled the Covid-19 pandemic and the numerous awards won during that period including the recognition of a safe destination given by World Travel Tourism Council. He further talked about other successful campaigns such as the “Maldives: The Sun Will Shine Again” digitally conducted and watched live by 850,000 people around the world. The “I’m Vaccinated” Covid-19 vaccination drive was also prosperous and encouraged people to get vaccinated for the virus.
Pre-pandemic arrival numbers featured 990,791 tourists by the end of July. Although the arrivals plummeted in the next two years owing to the pandemic, revivals are seen this year with 942,444 visitors concluding the month of July in 2022.
In his concluding remarks, Thoyyib stated that the future of Maldives tourism remains bright and full of potential. He further added that this is the perfect opportunity to bring revolutionary changes to the industry so that Maldives remain ahead of the game as in the preceding times.