Maldives Tourism to set up promotional office in India

(Travel Biz Monitor): In order to promote Maldives as an inbound tourism destination in a more targeted manner in India, the island nation is planning a promotional office in India. The proposed promotion office will most likely be established in Mumbai in Mumbai. According to Abdul Azeez Yoosuf, High Commissioner of Maldives in India, lack of proper publicity and awareness are the key reasons behind the low number of inbound tourists from India into Maldives, and “details are being worked out” to set up a promotional office in the country soon. 

When asked about the details, Yoosuf said that both an ownership set up as well as an outsourced arrangement were under consideration by the government. In spite of the proximity, Indian inbound to Maldives in 2011 was 31,000 or 3.3 per cent of the total inbound into Maldives. 

Commenting on the Indian market, the High Commissioner said that India is a growing market and there are a large number of young elite travellers who can afford the Maldives as a holiday destination.  “Hotels in Maldives are not cheap. So, only a high income group traveller can afford the destination,” he clarified. Yoosuf added that Mumbai and Delhi were the potential target markets for Maldives Tourism. 

When asked about Indian investments in Maldives, Yoosuf said that India continues to be the most important development partner for Maldives in areas like defense, education, training, etc. In the tourism and hospitality sector, The Taj is an important player in Maldives, the High Commissioner informed.  “We have all the policies open for Indian investors,” he added. 

When asked about connectivity, the High Commissioner said Maldives is well-connected with Trivandrum and Bengaluru, and SriLankan Airlines offers good connectivity through Colombo from Delhi.  He said that there is scope for capacity addition as per the existing air bilateral agreement between the two countries and that the Maldives government was ready to lend all support to any airline company interested in flying to the island.