Travel Trade Fair 2018 (TTM 2018), a six-day, multi-event trade fair organized by Maldives Getaways was launched at Bandos Maldives today. Minister of Economic Development, Mr. Mohamed Saeed attended the event as Chief Guest and inaugurated the event. The Chief Executive Officer of Maldives Getaways, Dr. Hussain Sunny Umar, provided the opening remarks at the event. During the Economic Minister’s speech, he spoke about the importance of such an event to the country and praised the effort Maldives Getaways had put into organizing the event. The Secretary General of Maldives Association of Tourism Industry, Mr. Ahmed Nazeer also attended the event and gave the industry keynote. President of Maldives Privatization and Corporatization Board, Mr. Mohamed Nizar participated in one of the panel discussions as well.

Mr. Ibrahim Ziyath, CEO of Maldives Transport and Contracting Company commended Maldives Getaways on successfully organizing the event on such a grand scale and highlighted the long-standing relationship between MTCC and Maldives Getaways. In addition to the speech by the guest of honor, Mr. Raufuddeen Saeed, Sub Inspector of Police addressed the attendees on tourist safety in the Maldives. Dr. Marcus Lee, Chairman of Association of SME Business Owners (ICIF) spoke about turnaround strategy to increase Chinese visitors, which is a major market for the Maldives tourism industry.

The Summit then progressed to four distinct Panel Discussions covering an array of topics ranging from Growth of Airport and Airlines, Government and National Strategies to Boost Tourism in the Maldives, Hotel Revenue and Automation, and Sustainable Tourism Development. The panelists included renowned figures such as Dr. Ahmed Salih, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Tourism; Mohamed Shahid, Managing Director of MITDC; General Manager of Maldives Ports Limited; Mr. Lionnel Maugis, Chief Development Officer, MACL; Shubham Moondhara, Manager of Corporate Strategy & Business Development, TMA; Sheeraz Rasheed, Seaplane Manager, Maldivian and Abdul Hameed Abdul Ghafoor, Managing Director, All H Maldives (ATSC Agents for AirAsia in Maldives). Panelists further included Graeme D’Arcy Ryan, Hotel Area Manager, Booking.com; Najib Khan, CEO, Ooredoo Maldives, Anil Kumar Prasanna, Co-Founder & CEO of AxisRooms, Savi Godakanda, Expedia; Juergen Steinemetz, Chairman ICPT and Publisher, eTurboNews; Feizal Samath, Correspondent, TTG Asia; and Daksh Sharma, Co-Founder and Managing Director, TravHQ Media.

TTM is an amalgamation of several components. This year’s TTM features a brand-new component, targeted solely towards the suppliers’ side of the industry, Maldives Supplier Expo. This is the very first expo of it’s kind, where several key decision makers from the resorts, including Head Chefs, Purchasing Managers, Director of Finance, Procurement Managers and Directors of Engineering will have the opportunity to network with leading suppliers, locally as well as internationally. In addition, TTM will be hosting the Gala Night Dinner at Adaaran Select Hudhuranfushi, allowing a more relaxed setting outside of the normal corporate offices where industry professionals will be able to network and share their experiences with other professionals.

Both local and international sponsors contributed to the success of TTM. Gold Partners for the event are Ooredoo Maldives, Allied Insurance, Al Shaali Marine and Fuel Supply Maldives. M7 Print, Laniakea Tech, State Trading Organization and Linkserve joined as Silver Partners. Lastly, TTM is covered by both local and international media. Locally, AVAS media, PSM, Maldives Insider and Corporate Maldives, while TTG Asia, TravHQ, TTN, TTJ, eTN and World of Tourism covered the event internationally.

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A specialized conference management software has been launched for the first ever Maldives Supplier Expo 2018 as part of the 2nd edition of the International Travel Trade Show of Maldives (TTM).

This software, which innovates meetings and scheduling as never seen before in the country, allows suppliers and visitors to request, accept and schedule meetings with an easy to navigate user-friendly portal available on the official TTM website.

The software was created by Laniakea Tech, the leading tech firm in the Maldives, to be equal to conference managers used at the largest international events throughout the world. Suppliers can be accessed from anywhere via the official TTM website and let Suppliers upload their profile with images that can be viewed by resorts and its relevant departments. Users can message each other through the portal to set up meetings and schedule networking sessions. Suppliers would allow users to set up to a maximum of 50 meetings within the 2 days, the maximum amount of constructive meetings and networking opportunities that produce results!

Maldives Supplier Expo is an invitation-only event, where exhibiting companies can expect to meet key decision makers including engineering directors, procurement managers and Chief Financial Officers from all over the Maldives. Maldives Supplier Expo is first of its kind, which will be held during TTM 2018 from 2 – 3 May 2018. A total of 1000+ key decision makers and purchasing chiefs from over 150 resorts plus leading companies of Maldives are expected to pass through the doors of Maldives Supplier Expo to visit and network with the exhibitors of Maldives Suppliers Expo.

Also watch our interview with Fraath Mohamed, Chief Operating Officer, Maldives Getaways on the upcoming leg of TTM Maldives.

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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.

The post Fraath Mohamed, COO of Maldives Getaways, on what the industry can expect from TTM 2018 appeared first on TravHQ.

The second edition of Travel Trade Maldives (TTM) is all set to kick-start in May, promising to bring together 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, on one platform.

Here are the top reasons why you should be heading to TTM this year-

#1. The only event exclusive to Maldives

This is the only travel trade show in the world exclusively dedicated to selling Maldives. Additionally, 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.

#2. Build a strong online presence

By registering for the vent, get a chance to complete your company profile, including images, videos and press releases, for buyers and travel professionals to view and choose from.

#3. Intense PR exposure

You will have the opportunity to work with TTM’s PR team to widen the reach of your brand message and stories, thus targeting your key markets in the most efficient way.

#4. Network with the media

Meet and greet with journalists and bloggers from top travel publications and get your brand worldwide exposure.

#5. Connect with buyers before the event

The exclusive Connect software will allow you to search and connect with buyers, visitors and other exhibitors, even before the event begins.

The first edition of TTM in 2017 had witnessed a gathering of over 400 industry professionals. Registered users conducted over 3,000 pre-scheduled meetings with the most influential decision makers in the industry for two days, discussing close to $1 billion worth of contracts.

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. The registration for the event ends on February 15, 2018.

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