Maldives named 'Best Long-Haul Destination of the Year'

The Maldives was named 'Best Long-Haul Destination of the Year' at the UK Food and Travel Magazine Reader Awards 2022.

The awards were presented on January 19, at London's Royal Automobile Club.

Maldives won the championship after competing against destinations such as Canada, Ecuador, Fiji, Japan, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, South Korea, and the Caribbean.

One of the top gastronomic travel publications in the world, UK's Food and Travel Magazine has seven worldwide versions, and has been published by Green Pea Publishing Limited for the past 25 years.

Since the publication's founding, the Food and Travel Magazine Reader Awards have been a highlight in the hospitality and travel sectors. With honours bestowed in 23 categories, including the top eateries, chefs, hotels, locations, tour guides, cruise lines, and airlines, it honours and recognizes the "crème de la crème" of the tourism sector's food and beverage industry.

Over the years, the UK has consistently ranked among the top source markets for the Maldives. The UK is the third-largest source market for visitors to the Maldives, with 10,025 arrivals (8.2% of the market share) as of January 22, 2023.

In 2022, the Maldives saw an 185.6 percent increase in visits from the UK with 179,309 visitors.

In order to keep the momentum for the destination going, MMPRC hosted a number of events in this area last year. This involved attending important trade exhibitions like WTM London 2022, going on familiarization visits, and participating in destination roadshows in London, Manchester, and Newcastle. It also included joint marketing initiatives like the one with British Airways.

MMPRC has a lot of similar events scheduled for this market throughout 2023.

MMPRC carried out 178 marketing actions in total in 2022. This included over 90 marketing efforts, 44 fair appearances, six roadshows, ten virtual events, eighteen familiarization tours, and ten additional international events.

The Maldives received its 1.6 millionth visitor for the year in December 2022, two weeks before the year's conclusion, achieving its tourist arrivals goal for the year.

2022 also saw Maldives win the title of "World's Leading Destination" at the 2022 World Travel Awards for the third consecutive year, while MMPRC received the coveted title of "World's Leading Tourist Board" in a historic first.