Maldives welcomes French tourists with open arms

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At the heart of the tourism capital Paris, IFTM Top Resa was a must go also for Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC)

At the heart of the tourism capital Paris, IFTM Top Resa was a must go also for Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC)

Mohamed Adam, deputy managing director for MMPRC told eTurboNews: “Top Resa is always a good platform to reach the French travel trade and consumers, especially at a time when the inbound market from France is declining. It’s always a bit challenging to counter negative publicity created in France about Maldives political situation, or even more about some public perception about travel to a Muslim country in general.

We are here in full force with 12 representative together with stakeholders in the Maldives tourism industry to welcome French tourists with open arms.”

Maldives is being showcased at a 60 sqm contemporary design setting portraying colourful imagery of the unique aspects of the destinationโ€™s tourism product.

Together with the strong destination brand message, โ€œMaldivesโ€ฆthe sunny side of lifeโ€, the โ€œVisit Maldives Year 2016โ€ are being communicated prominently through branding on Top Resaโ€™s most prominent spaces such as 10ft Arch at the entrance 5 banners outside the exhibition, sponsorship of floor tiles and advertisements on the cover of the IFTM Top Resa Daily news.

This is the 38th year of Top Resa and it was first held in Deauville in 1978. It was then targeted for the leisure travellers. In 2008, IFTM Top Resa moved to Paris and became a multi-target show covering all grounds of travel: business, leisure and events. Today, major players in the leisure travel, event management and business travel gather to share and learn through the impressive range of destinations present, and discovering new products and exhibitors of the latest technological solutions sector. A total of 1560 new and returning brands occupying 492 stands took part in IFTM TOP RESA 2015 which is a 30% increase compared to 2015. 160 destinations took part in Top Resa 2015, a trade event attended mainly by French tour operators.

French market has experienced a downfall in the past three years, by taking part in this fair it is aimed to revive and regain the market share. This yearโ€™s marketing plan for the French speaking market have been strategized to strengthen the destinationโ€™s presence in the market and aggressively market Maldives through extensive PR and marketing campaigns targeting the French travel trade and consumers.

Whilst positively increasing the arrivals from France, these campaigns will help the destination reach its targets in 2016 and in turn help achieve the target of 1.5 visitors during the Visit Maldives Year 2016.

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To boost the number of arrivals from the French market โ€˜Interface Tourismโ€™ was appointed as a PR to overlook the French market and conduct promotional activities. A road show was held from 9-12 May 2016 in Paris, Lille, Lyon and Marseille to showcase Maldives as a tourism destination to the French agents and wholesalers. This was a great platform for the Maldivian resorts, hotels and agents to meet most of the top traders that sell Maldives interact and educate during a uniquely inspired event that took place in all four cities.
42,024 arrivals were recorded from France by the end of 2015. France is among the top 10 generating markets to the Maldives with a 3.9% of the market share, by the end of this period.




Top Resa held from 20-23 September will conclude in Paris tonight.
The Maldives Pavilion is located at 7.2, Stand C 056 at IFTM Top Resa 2016, Port de Versailles, Paris, France.

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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