MMPRC commences Maldives Brand Survey

Monday 10th of August 2020

MMPRC commences Maldives Brand Survey

The Maldives is an island nation made up of 1,190 islands geographically dispersed across the ocean. Renowned for the “one-island-one-resort” concept, tourists from all over the world visit to enjoy the pristine natural environment, world class services, privacy and seclusion.

As the destination evolved, the tourism product diversified with an increasing need for a functional marketing approach to promote the additional features of the brand such as resorts, liveaboards, guest houses and hotels warranting a different approach. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism has shown a significant downfall with what used to come in thousands and ten-thousands now being reduced to fifties and hundreds.

Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) is conducting research to understand the tourism industry perspective of the Maldives brand. This research is an essential component for the development of the brand guidelines which is an integral part of an ongoing exercise to strengthen and build the Maldives brand. The findings of this research will be essential in future destination marketing, particularly in how destination branding will be continued.

The original slogan of Maldives, launched back in 2003 was “Maldives… the sunny side of life”. Since then, with more engagement being shown in experiential travel, associated sub-brand slogans, replacing the word “sunny” from the original slogan, emerged to promote the diversified tourism experiences.

Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed, Managing Director of MMPRC, states that “It is time for a strong and consistent brand message to be sent. Professional brand guidelines will greatly enhance the effectiveness of marketing communications to various target segments and help the tireless efforts put into promoting the Maldives during these unprecedented times.”. He emphasizes that consistency in the brand message is important in making the brand recognizable and reliable and that brand guidelines will help maintain the quality and integrity of brand image.

However, with the COVID-19 tourism regulations in place, and naturally distanced islands allowing for more privacy, Maldives can be counted on by tourists as one of the safest holiday destinations.