Visit Maldives Hosts Webinar Focusing on Nordic Region in Collaboration with Emirates

Monday 15th of March 2021

The first webinar of the year focusing on the Nordic Region was hosted by Visit Maldives on March 11, 2021. In a joint collaboration with Emirates Airlines and over 30 participants, the webinar was aimed strategically at ambient brand advertising to boost the destination presence in the Norwegian market. These participants include travel agents, tour operators and other industry professionals from Norway.

The webinar commenced with Emirates Airlines representatives briefing the participants about air connectivity between the two destinations. Currently, 3 weekly flights from Oslo fly to Male with a stopover at Dubai. Moreover, the hub of Dubai directly connects to Male via 4 flights onboard Emirates Airlines on a daily basis.

Followig this, Managing Director of Visit Maldives, Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed addressed the participants, explaining the current safety measures in place that makes Maldives a safe haven for travel, highlighting the Covid-19 situation, entry requirements and departure and arrival procedures.

The presentation also focused on the unique geography of the country that has enabled natural social distancing and the one-island-one-resort concept that provides visitors plenty of isolation and privacy, and showcased experiences unique to the destination, such as underwater spas and restaurants.

‘We aim to become one of the first countries with a 100% vaccinated tourism sector and population. The staff from the tourism industry are especially given priority to ensure their safety as well as those visiting the Maldives,’ he stated. Also, discussed plans to carry out offline and online activities in the Nordic market to promote destination visibility.

In addition to this, key initiatives by the industry stakeholders of the Maldives were briefed, including Maldives Border Miles program, by Maldives Immigration as the world's first tier-based travel loyalty programme, and Allied Inbound, travel insurance package launched by Allied Insurance Company in association with the Ministry of Tourism.

The webinar concluded with a Q&A session. Participants raised queries on requirements for PCR testing, entry requirements for vaccinated tourists of all ages, and vaccination status of resort staff.

There were 1,624 arrivals from the Norwegian market in 2020 and 43 arrivals in January of 2021. Though there is a decrease due to the covid-19 pandemic, the market holds great potential as Norwegians have high spending power and love to travel frequently. In order to boost these figures, a PR agency was hired this month for the Nordic region.