Maldives Makes Massive $12 Million Tourism Push
The Maldives announced it would make a massive tourism push in 2013 to help boost the numbers of people coming to this majestic set of coral islands, to the tune of USD $12 million. However, officials did admit they were intending to make a bigger push for investment in the future. The Tourism Ministry announced its new budget of USD $12 million put aside to promote and enhance the Maldivian market for tourism across the world. It's one of the biggest investments in tourism made by such a small country, and thus states its intentions of competing with other tropical locations like the Mauritius and St. Lucia. One prominent official from the Tourism Ministry said the rise in the budget was due to a number of new airports and resorts opening in the next year. He stressed the importance of more marketing to help bring these new facilities to their maximum capacities. In English, the Minister told reporters: "Next year Maldives must be advertised in additional markets. Decision has also been made to promote Maldives in up and coming markets. A lot of effort has to be put in to promote Maldives especially in Europe. So a sufficient budget is needed next year to do all this." Maldives luxury holidays have gained significant steam for tourists interested in holidaying in the Indian Ocean, but a recent slowdown in Europe has meant there's a serious danger of not filling these new resorts. It's expected with this latest injection of capital the small country will successfully compete with other tourism markets in 2013, providing a significant boost to overall tourism revenues; which the country relies on. The official who spoke to reporters said approximately $4.5 million is purely for tourism promotion across the globe. He said the industry required more to sustain its industry, though: "Industry requested to increase the budget to USD8 million. But the government at the time decided to give USD4.5 million. This year we worked to market Maldives with the assistance of various parties of the industry." Although there are significant differences between what tourism officials want and what the national government can give, there are a lot of grounds for agreement as both parties agree new initiatives are needed to highlight the best of the Maldives. Additional documentaries and promotion through international media channels are both promoted as viable options by the Tourism Ministry. He spoke of the importance of these promotion options: "There are a lot of new initiatives being introduced in the Maldives. Extensive promotion of underwater restaurants and big game fishing is needed. As the documentaries being used are outdated, we need to produce fresh documentaries. We have also decided to participate in more fairs and do a lot more to promote Maldives." We are a UK based company committed to providing memorableMaldives luxury holidays , using our passionate and friendly staff members, tourists can have their holiday tailored to suit their needs and tastes. |