MATATO complains over insufficient tourism promo budget

Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) has expressed concern over the budget for destination marketing in 2017, which it claims is insufficient and less than 25 percent of the budget requested by Ministry of Tourism for destination marketing.

MATATO expressed concern over the budget and lack of preparation by government for destination marketing planned for 2017 in a press statement it issued this Monday, December 19.

Insufficient budget:

MATATO said that it lobbied over importance of destination marketing to create demand for the additional supply of beds in Maldives as soon as the government submitted its budget for 2017 to the People’s Majlis.

MATATO noted the multiple resorts opened in Maldives this year and the multiple resorts which will be opened in 2017 and the rapid growth of the country’s guesthouse business – leading to a massive growth in bed capacity – which needs to be filled up with more destination marketing efforts.

The association said it had lobbied with People’s Majlis, relevant government bodies, Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), as well as other tourism NGOs; and noted that the destination marketing budget for 2017 was less than 25 percent of what was requested by Ministry of Tourism, and less than expenditure on destination marketing in 2016 and 2015.

It said that regional tourism competitors such as Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and Seychelles had marketing budgets 10 to 20 times larger than Maldives.

“It is vital that the Ministry of Tourism is given the adequate budgets in order to meet their tasks of marketing destination given the challenges of regional competition from emerging beach destinations and the PR challenges the destination has had in recent.”

Lack of preparation:

MATATO said that independent participation of the association in trade fairs was not an effort to substitute promotional activities by MMPRC, but to compliment it.

It stressed the importance of showcasing the brand “Maldives” as widely as possible in the international market, in order to avoid drop in tourist arrivals and poor return on investment.

MATATO complained that MMPRC had not sent circulars for the trade shows in January, February and March; stressing the importance of pre-planning and preparation to arrange transportation, accommodation and logistics needed for such trips.

It said that last minute planning could damage the Maldivian brand name and its presence in travel shows in Spain, India, Germany, Switzerland and Turkey.

MATATO stressed the importance of protecting and promoting Maldivian tourism given that two-third of the economy depends on the tourism sector.

MMPRC has not yet responded to the statement.