Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/Visit Maldives) has won the title of World's Leading Tourist Board 2022 at the 29th annual World Travel Awards (WTA).
For this prestigious award, MMPRC had to compete against 28 other tourism organizations. The achievement of the distinguished title of "World's Leading Tourism Board" is a first for the Maldives and is a brilliant testament to the hard work and devotion of MMPRC over the last year in maintaining the Maldives in the top tier of the world tourism sector.
Late on Friday night, at a ceremony held at Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Oman, Thoyyib Mohamed, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of MMPRC, accepted the award on the organization's behalf.
“This year is our Golden Jubilee of Tourism in the Maldives, and I couldn't have asked for a better achievement to mark 50 years of welcoming visitors to our shores. This award is thanks to the guidance of our government, the support of our partners, and the hard work of the tourism industry as a whole. And of course, our visitors- we are blessed that people from around the world love the Maldives so much. This is also the first year that MMPRC, also known as Visit Maldives, secured the title of the World's Leading Tourist Board. It feels like an affirmation of the hard work of our team over these past few years, pushing through the toughest global crises of recent times. Thank you to everyone for voting for the Maldives, and I hope to welcome you soon to the Sunny Side of Life,” Thoyyib said.
Over the first three quarters of 2022, MMPRC already carried out a total of 149 activities in 22 different global marketplaces, addressing both the travel industry and consumers with a reach of over 8.6 billion. One of their main goals in developing their strategy was to keep their brand visible in international markets. The Maldives was marketed as a top-tier luxury destination with a range of reasonably priced options and exciting experiences. MMPRC's narrative was delivered clearly to inspire trust in the location. They successfully incorporated this narrative with the Maldives Tourism Golden Jubilee messaging to encourage visitors to join in the industry's celebrations this year. Tourist arrival numbers show the effectiveness of MMPRC's marketing initiatives as the Maldives gets closer to accomplishing the goal of welcoming 1.6 million visitors.
The Maldives also won the WTA's top prize for a travel destination, taking home the title of World's Leading Destination for the third consecutive year. Meanwhile, Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) won the title of World's Leading Seaplane Operator - the eighth time they have won the title. In addition to this, the Maldives took home various accolades from the Indian Ocean Category.
