The second edition of Maldives Getaways’ international travel trade show, the Travel Trade Maldives (TTM), is all set to commence on May 1 this year. The only platform to connect the travel trade community of the Maldives to a global network of travel professionals from resort properties and international trade agencies, the event aims to facilitate the tourism industry to reach the ultimate target of two million tourists with over $3.5 billion in receipts by the end of 2020.

Discussing the reasons behind conducting TTM, Fraath Mohamed, Chief Operating Officer, Maldives Getaways said, “The whole aspect behind TTM was to bring agents and resorts on one platform for them to network and create business for the industry. This has never been done in Maldives, and we are doing it for the first time. Last year, the event was a success through and through; we hope to get better results this year as well.”

On the aspect of positioning Maldives as a travel destination with regards to competitors like Seychelles and Mauritius that have similar locales, Mr. Mohamed said that the country’s tourism supply side is growing rapidly. “We do have similarities with Seychelles, but there are differences as well. The budget travel market is growing, and Maldives already has 600 guest houses, which we hope will grow up to 1000 by 2020. More resorts are coming in and are expected to open this year. As a marketing and PR firm, it is our responsibility to grow these markets collectively. Hence we are focusing on the resorts and guesthouses through this event.”

Watch the full video here:

The three-day event will have the Hotelier Summit which would see over 150 tourism professionals meet in one place to discuss the future of tourism in the Maldives. The Tourism Career Fair will see resorts, leading hotel chains and service providers in Maldives exhibit their products. The goal of the career fair is to give job seekers, students, employers, training institutions and government agencies a place to network.

The highlight of the event is the Maldives Dive Expo, a world-class platform for industry players to better engage with each other, connect with suppliers and dive operators along with the existing dive schools.

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The second edition of Maldives Getaways’ international travel trade show, the Travel Trade Maldives (TTM), is scheduled to be held from May 1-3, 2018. This is the only platform that connects the travel trade community of the Maldives to a global network of travel professionals from resort properties and international trade agencies, including leading travel operators and travel agents, media partners, international airlines and key industry stakeholders.

Maldives Getaways concluded its first-ever TTM event on July 12th and 13th this year, which saw the travel trade community of the Maldives connect with the local and global network of travel trade professionals.The event started with the first ever Hotelier Summit with over 200 tourism professionals in attendance, including resort and hotel general managers, resident managers, key hotel owners, international travel trade stakeholders and travel industry professionals. A total of four panels took place at the summit that saw participation of more than 80 general managers from resorts and hotels across Maldives. More than 3,000 scheduled meetings took place over the period of two days with over US$ 1 billion worth of business contracts being discussed.

As part of the event this year, the Maldives Dive Expo has also been announced for 2nd and 3rd May, 2018. The Expo aims to create a world-class platform for industry players to better engage with each other, connect with suppliers and dive operators, along with the existing dive schools. Maldives Dive Expo is set to see over 50 international media and dive specialized operators from all across the globe. The Dive Expo compliments the Divemv magazine and would help promote the Maldives tourism industry as a diving destination.

Additionally, the TTM Supplier Expo will also be held as part of the TTM 2018, where industry players will engage and connect with close to 50 international and local tourism-related suppliers. This would be a complete event that promotes the entire value chain, capitalizing on the supplier side while promoting the dynamism of Maldivian demand worldwide.

The TTM 2018 event has been extended to a 3-day event to increase the number of pre-scheduled meetings among exhibitors and agents alike. More than 150 properties from Maldives are expected to participate, while over 200 operators, agents and media are expected to be in Maldives for this event.

For a list of other travel events for 2018, read here.

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