Maldives’ first Travel Trade fair has begun on Wednesday.
The fair named Travel Trade Maldives (TTM), held until Thursday, was inaugurated by tourism minister Moosa Zameer.
Speaking at the fair, tourism minister highlighted the importance of such events to promote the tourism industry in the Maldives and expressed gratitude to the company for organising such an event.
Minister also noted that the number of tourist arrivals in the Maldives are rising and added that the completion of the development of Velana International Airport (VIA) would further boost arrivals.
Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) Secretary general and director of Crown company Ahmed Nazeer also commented on the development of the tourism industry since it first began in 1972 and said that tourism has flourished as the archipelago is now a globally renowned tourist attraction.
TTM aims to facilitate the target of reaching two million tourists with over USD3.5 billion in revenue during the next four years. 150 travel agents from around the world, 100 resort/tourist hotel owners and 50 journalists are expected to participate in the fair.
TTM will also host the first ever Hotelier Summit of Maldives, targeting hotel investors, leading hotel owners, operators, developers, architects and consultants.
Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) will be responsible for certain arrangements of the fair. PATA will also be conducting an academy for the duration of the fair.
TTM is also endorsed by a handful of Maldivian organizations including MATATA, MATI and MMPRC. Avas online has been designated as the fair's online partner.
