The Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) participated in the Tourism EXPO Japan to promote the destination to travelers and travel trade representatives.
One of the largest travel fairs in the country, the expo took place from 22 to 25 September at the Tokyo Big Sight. It was the first in-person event in Japan at which the Maldives was represented since the onset of the global pandemic in early 2020.
Tourism Expo Japan offers a platform for travel professionals to exchange travel information and conduct business meetings while inspiring consumers. The MMPRC was joined by a dozen representatives from six companies from the Maldives tourism industry.
Located in a in a 63sqm space, the Maldives’ stand showcased images of the destination’s unique aspects and experiences that have proven popular among Japanese tourists. Throughout the event, visitors to the stand were provided information about the tourism products (resorts, hotels, guesthouses, liveaboards) and the different segments (romance, honeymoon, family, adventure, water sports/dive, & MICE). The MMPRC emphasized the unique geography of the scattered islands that offer natural social distancing and isolation.
Before the pandemic, Japan was the top 9th source market for the Maldives with 44,251 tourist arrivals in 2019. Since the country recently reopened its borders for international travel after two years, Japanese arrivals have been slowly increasing with 2,909 tourist arrivals recorded by 10 August. .
With its potential for growth and recovery to pre-pandemic levels, the MMPRC has forecast better arrival numbers for the coming months.
“Several activities were carried out in the Japanese market during the pandemic to maintain destination presence and momentum. Under this effort, digital campaigns were conducted with leading travel trade and media partners and destination information webinars were conducted for Japanese travel agents and tour operators. Earlier in the year, a media FAM trip was conducted for this market, attended by officials from high-profile media and publications in Japan,” the MMPRC said.
