Maldives participates at the Eastern Mediterranean International Tourism and Travel Fair EMITT 2013

Maldives Promotion House – The Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) together with the 27 representatives from the tourism industry have participated in the Eastern Mediterranean International Tourism and Travel Fair EMITT held for the 17th time from 24th to 27th January 2013 in Istanbul. The State Minister of Tourism Arts & Culture, Honorable Ahmed Shameem have participated in the fair as the head of Maldivian delegation.

EMITT which is the 5th largest tourism fair in Europe has attracted Regions, development agencies, tourism companies and industry professionals from around the world. EMITT estimates this year’s fair will achieve much broader attendance compared to the previous years. The main purpose of participating in this fair is to build and develop strong ties with the tourism stakeholders of Turkey and to create destination awareness among the Turkish market. The first two days of the fair are exclusively for the travel professionals. The first three days of the fair has ended with a series of constructive meetings held between the industry professionals from Turkey and Maldives.

Turkey has a 73.7 million population and GDP growth rate of 11 percent (first quarter of 2011) ranking number 1 in the world, it is also part of G20 major economies. Beyond that, Turkey has a stable economy and the global economic downfall having had very little or no effect on the Turkish economy leading to a tremendous increase in outbound travel which is forecasted to reach 16 million trips in 2016. 5,416 tourist arrivals were recorded from Turkey to Maldives from January to December 2012; this is an increase of 19.2% compared to the same period of 2011. December 2012 recorded an increase of 188.5% tourist arrivals from Turkey compared to December 2011. Turkish market is a relatively small market for the Maldives by percentage share. Nonetheless, with the favorable market conditions and good connectivity established with the commencement of Turkish Airlines scheduled flights direct from Istanbul to Male’ flying 5 days a week, there is huge potential for growth.