MATATO Importance of Destination Marketing 2017 Report

MATATO
Importance of
Destination
Marketing
PUBLISHED BY MATATO
T h e r e h ave n e v e r b e e n a m o re e xc iting tim e in the his - Importance of
t o ry o f M a l d i vi a n to u ris m with the hig he s t be d ca- Destination Marketing
pa c i ty th a t i s a l m o s t d o u ble the fig u re te n ye ars
ag o a n d wi th ov e r 30 res o rts e xp e c te d to o p e n j u s t
i n f e w y e a rs . A d d i n g to this are the g u e s t ho u s e s
t h a t h ave i n c re a s e d i n t he las t two ye ars to ove r
44 3 g u e s t h o u s e s i n th e M aldive s to day. Thu s with all
t h e s e n e w d e ve l o pm e n ts and o p p o rtu nitie s , it is im -
p o rta n t th a t we , a s a d e s tinatio n, c re ate dis c u s -
si o n s a n d d e b a te s th a t pave the way fo r ne w IDE AS
AN D o ppo rtu n i ti e s .
Importance of
Destination Marketing
01
C O N T E N T S
Background 03
Maldives Travel Conference 2016 05
Tourism Facts and Figures 07
Key Source Markets and Challenges 10
China out-bound Travel Market 13
Numbers from Key Destinations 16
Destination Marketing - Return of Investment 18
Destination Marketing Budget 21
Marketing Budgets in other Destinations 22
MATATO Trade Fairs 24
Conclusion 25
Importance of
[1] BACKGROUND
In 2016, Maldives celebrated the arrival of more than 1.2 Million tourists, and this
number is expected to grow, as more tourism enterprises and properties are
emerging to cater for a wide spectrum of the market.
We are at an opportune stand as one of the leading destinations of the Indian

Ocean, having created and devolved travel is unique to the Maldives.
There has never been a more exciting time in the history of Maldivian tourism with
the highest bed capacity that is almost double the figure ten years ago and with
over 30 resorts expected to open just in few years. Adding to this are the guest
houses that have increased in the last two years to over 443 guest houses in the
Maldives today. Thus with all these new developments and opportunities, it is
important as a destination to create discussions and debates that pave the way for
new opportunities and ideas.
Thus, last year MATATO together with the industry launched the ‘Maldives Travel
Conference.' That was hosted in Bandos Resort which was the starting point to
bring in international and local experts, to create a platform for tourism industry
stakeholders and government policymakers to share views, knowledge, and
experience focusing on tourism to come to an understanding for better develop-
ment policies and strategies.
The conference was attended by over 150 travel professionals (hoteliers, travel
executives and representatives from key stakeholders).
This report is a summary of, the first edition of Maldives Travel conference,
compiled of key findings, observations and recommendations proposed and
discussed by the industry representatives.
03
Hosted in Bandos Island Resort, Maldives Travel Conference,
featured four key topics:
INTERNATIONAL KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
• Importance of Destination Marketing
• Luxury Travel Trends in Maldives Context
• Evolving Maldives Tourism Product Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO, Pacific Asia Travel Association,
• Tourism and Perception – Opportunities and Challenges PATA
Prof. Dr. Walter Jamieson, FCIP Director, Thammasat
Each topic for the conference was dissected by a panel of four University, Thailand
industry experts and representatives who separately share their
insight and thoughts on the subject. Following the presentations Ms. Sonali Chatterjee, Sales Director India & South
by the speakers, participants of the conference also joined the Asia, CNN International
discussion through an open debate with the panel. MATATO had Feizal Samath, Senior Correspondent, TTG Asia
the following international guest speakers for the Conference from
PATA, CNN, and TTG Asia.
04
Importance of
[2] Maldives Travel Conference 2016

One of the key topics discussed at the conference was “Importance of Destination
Marketing” which was opened by a presentation from CNN International represent-
ed by Ms. Sonali Chatterjee, Sales Director India & South Asia. She shared some
insights and case studies on how CNN has impacted various destinations on helping
them promote their goals and showed data on statistics gathered by CNN.
After the keynote by Ms. Sonali from CNN, she was joined on stage for a panel
discussion with Mr. Mohamed Khaleel – Chairman MMPRC, Mr. Feizal Samath - TTG
Asia Correspondent and Dr. Mario Hardy CEO PATA.
Mariyam Waheeda moderated the panel, and the panelists were first asked on how
Maldives has played its role in marketing the destination in the recent. Mr. Khaleel
highlighted the challenges of the budgetary restraints the body has had in being able
to perform to its potential. The second question to the panel was on how destination
Maldives can differentiate itself from its competition, Mr. Feizal from TTG Asia
emphasized on the importance of having unique selling points “gems” that would
differentiate each product from one another. Dr. Mario from PATA discussed the
importance of storytelling and Maldives as a destination need to tell stories than just
portray its beauty.
Four parliament members from ruling party joined an audience for the conference
and were very engaging in asking various questions and contributing to the
discussion very proactively. Notably Hon. Asma Rasheed, MP for Maafannu-Central
added to the debate asking the panelists if the destination can deploy more cost-ef-
fective marketing means engaging on social media.
05
Maldives Travel Conference 2016:
Importance of Destination Marketing
Coverage and Impact

In 2016, MATATO was the first to echo the the respective institutions the importance In addition to this MATATO geared up its
outcry about the destination marketing of prioritising the destination marketing own efforts on destination marketing
budget and aggressively lobbied by raising budget increasing the frequency of international
the concerns to the parliament and the travel trade events. In the past 12 months
Ministry of Tourism. Maldives Travel Conference was also part MATATO has taken part in more than 15
of this effort, where parliamentarians, international travel trade events.
In December 2016, following extensive ministers and key policy makers were
lobbying efforts MATATO also raised this invited to listen to experts and from those
issue in the media to rally support for the in the field speak on on the importance of
industry in convincing the parliament and this topic.
06
Importance of
[ 3] Facts & Figures
Tourism Review
in Numbers
2015 2016 2017
Tourist Arrivals 97,073 108,396 125,336 ^

Bed Capacity 27,760 27,996 30,654 ^
Bed Nights 630,840 607,098 715,243 ^
Occupancy 73.3 70.0 75.3 ^
Average Stay 6.5 5.6 5.7 ^
^
TGST (USD) 26,931,340 25,463,892 25,416,156
Statistics compared on January 2015, 2016 & 2017
07
Importance of
Operational bed Revenue from

capacity tourism fell by
increased by 2% from year
9.1% in 2016. 2015 to 2016.
In 2016, STR data showed Maldives seeing decreases

across the three key performance metrics in various
quarters – Occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR.
As per Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) data from

'Statistical Yearbook of Maldives 2017.
Regardless, Maldives opening 11 new resorts in 2016

with bed capacity increasing from 34,105 beds in 2015
to 37,224 in 2016 which is a 9.1% growth YoY; this has
not reflected positively on government revenue from
tourism that fell by 2% from year 2015 to 2016.
2014 2015 2016
Direct Revenue MVR 5,621,500,000 6,532,800,000 6,394,600,000

f om Tourism
fr USD 364,559,014 423,657,588 414,695,201
% Change 16% -2%
MVR 14,999,000,000 16,669,300,000 17,673,700,000

Total Revenue
USD 972,697,795 1,081,018,158 1,146,154,345
% Change 11% 6%
63.2% of total GST revenue collected in 2016

was attributed to TGST. MVR 3.96 billion was
collected as TGST. This collection is 4.4%
lower than the TGST revenue for 2015, and
9.5% lower than projected estimate of MVR
4.38 billion. The decrease in TGST revenue is
believed to be mainly due to the decrease in
prices of goods and services in the tourism
sector.
MIRA Annual Report 2016
08
Importance of
Statistics – August 2017

Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA)
Statistics published by Maldives Inland Revenue Authority
(MIRA) revealed that the revenue generated from Tourist
Goods and Services Tax (TGST) dropped from 20,171,407
-13.7%
US$ in 2016 August to 17,399,931 US$ in 2017 August,
which is -13.7% drop.
According to MIRA, overall revenue generated from various

Tourism Revenue taxes totaled to MVR 1 Billion and $39.7 Million within last
month; which also dropped by 0.4% compared to the same
August 2017 period of last year, although they forecasted it to drop by
2.5%.
Looking into the statistics of Business Profit Tax (BPT), it also

dropped from 1,654,234 US$ to 1,507,540 US$ this year.
Similarly, Green Tax fell from 3,533,419 US$ to 3,402,548
US$ this year.
09
Importance of
[4]
THE KEY SOURCE MARKETS

& CHALLENGES
Importance of
Top 14 source markets for

Maldives in 2016
% Change vs The metrics don't reflect the revenue decreases of various tourist
Source Market # Tourists
2015 resorts/ hotels/ guest houses and live boards, and given the growth
in bed capacity, the growth in some markets doesn’t match the
1 China 324,326 -9.8%
supply available. And the 9.8% drop in Chinese market equals to
2 Germany 106,381 1.2% 31,783 tourists, which is a huge number for many other markets to
match.
3 United Kingdom 101,843 9.8%
Comparing figures by few primary source market for last four years,
4 Italy 71,202 8.5%
last monthly arrival statistics available is July 2017, which is another
5 India 66,955 27.9% challenge for the industry as the delay of data were available for the
industry.
6 Russia 46,522 5.0%
7 France 40,487 -3.7%
Germany
8 Japan 39,894 1.7%
9 USA 32,589 11.2%
10 Switzerland 31,678 -0.8% Jan – July 2015 Jan - July 2017 % Change
11 South Korea 29,580 -10.4 Germany 57,720 60,522 4.8%
12 Australia 23,584 19.5%

When you compare Jan to July figures for 2015 and 2017 for the
13 Spain 23,393 31.3% German market, there is a mere 4.8% given Maldives was the host
nation for ITB Berlin 2016 thus as a destination we were not able to
14 Saudi Arabia 21,964 39.5%
capitalize on this with proper follow-up mechanisms.
RUSSIA UK
Russia has been facing fluctuating currency and The UK market has seen steady growth comparing 2014 and 2015,
problems in the economy through some of our but for 2016 to 2017 there is hardly any growth through our
competing destinations have been able to capitalize competing destinations are showing very positive growth from the
as Maldives has not been able to reach the 2014 UK.
figures.
Jan – July 2016 Jan - July 2017 % Change Jan – July 2016 Jan - July 2017 % Change
Russia 41,974 34,770 -17.1 UK 59,434 59,442 0.0%
11
THE SOURCE MARKETS & THE CHALLENGES
THE KEY SOURCE MARKETS

CHINA & THE CHALLENGES
Jan – July 2015 Jan - July 2017 % Change
China 219,641 175,771 -19.9
Maldives has not been able to bounce back to 2015 figures for the Chinese
market which is the largest market for the destination. Comparing Jan to July
data for 2015 and 2017, there is a negative growth of -19.9% this is
something the destination has not been able to counter and find a way to
rebound.
12
Importance of
[5]
China Outbound Travel Market
In Sepetember 2017, MATATO in collabora-
tion with China Outbound Tourism Research
Institute (COTRI) held training in Male’ with
participation from various resorts and hotels,
on the theme, “Attracting the Right Chinese
Traveler.”
One of the key things highlighted at the

training was the current Chinese Outbound
trends and figures.
In the first half of 2017, China’s outbound

tourism recovered somewhat from a
slowdown in the speed of growth in 2016.
However, based on the slow recovery of
visitor numbers to Hong Kong and Macau
SARs and the dark fall of visitor numbers to
Taiwan, the overall YoY growth rate stayed
still in the single-digit area:
In 2016, the overall year -on-year growth Border crossings from Mainland China 2017
rate fell to only 2.7% Forecast by COTRI
Full year 2017 YoY change in %
Trips to Greater China (Hong Kong, Macau,
Taiwan) fell -5.2% Greater China (Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan) 68,500,000 2.6
Trips to the Rest of the World grew by Rest of the World 76,500,000 9.1
11.7%.
Total 145,000,000 6.0
For the first half of 2017, the overall YoY
growth rate moved up to 7.4%.
Visitor numbers to Greater China improved

slightly to 0.7%
Visitor numbers to the Rest of the World

grew by 14.3%
13
SOURCE MARKETS & THE CHALLENGES
Chinese Arrival Statistics,

Maldives 2014 to 2017
The shows from 2014 to present, monthly comparisons

year on year for Chinese arrivals to the Maldives, which is
is very worrying for the destination as 2017 line is below
all other years expect for January.
The above graph shows from 2014 to present, monthly

comparisons year on year for Chinese arrivals to Indonesia
(Bali 70%), which shows healthy growth year on year with
2017 line above all other years for all the past months.
Thus this proves Chinese market is growing to our compet-

ing destination regardless of last years economic slow
down in China. Thus as a destination we need to counter
this with more marketing efforts and advertising.
“This year’s boom in Asian outbound

travel, especially by the Chinese, is
remarkable. Moreover, we can observe
an important long-term trend. Asians
are starting to go on fewer sightseeing
trips taking in several countries.
Instead, many of them dream of
relaxing on sun & beach holidays. In
other words, they are gradually
becoming ‘normal holidaymakers’ like
in Western countries.”
Rolf Freitag, IPK International Founder

and President.
14
Importance of
Competing destinations for

Outbound Chinese Market
27 destinations offer visa-free entry for Chinese citizens
UAE Saint Kitts and Nevis Samoa

Jeju Province, South Korea Turks and Caicos Islands Mauritius
Indonesia Jamaica Seychelles
Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam Ecuador Réunion
Barbados Serbia Morocco
Bahamas San Marino Tunisia
Grenada Fiji South Georgia and the South
Antigua and Barbuda Tonga Sandwich Island
Dominica French Polynesia
Haiti Northern Mariana Islands
27 destinations offer visa-on arrival for Chinese citizens

Azerbaijan Nepal Egypt São Tomé and Príncipe
Bahrain Sri Lanka Togo Tanzania
Timor-Leste Thailand Guinea-Bissau Uganda
Cambodia Turkmenistan Cape Verde Guyana
Qatar Brunei Comoros Suriname
Laos Iran Côte d’Ivoire Palau
Lebanon Indonesia Madagascar Tuvalu
Maldives Jordan Malawi Vanuatu
Bangladesh Armenia Mauritania Ukraine
Myanmar Vietnam Saint Helena
New direct flight In 2017 more than 100 new air connections were started
connecting Chinese airports with airports outside of the
country.
connections to China
Many of these relations connect second-tier cities in
China with second-tier destinations abroad.
15
Importance of
[6] NUMBERS FROM KEY DESTINATIONS
Source Market # Tourists % Change vs 2015

DESTINATION SRI LANKA
1 India 356,729 13%
2 China 271,577 26% Top 10 source markets for

3 UK 188,159 16% Sri Lanka in 2016 :
4 Germany 133,275 15%
5 France 96,440 12%
6 Maldives 95,167 5%
7 Australia 74,496 17%
8 Russia 58,176 -6%
9 USA 54,254 15%
10 Canada 44,122 17%
Sri Lanka had 2,050,832 tourists in 2016

which was 14% growth from 2015 that All four sub-regions shared in
had 1,798,380 tourists.
this growth, led by Oceania
(+10%) and followed closely by
North-East Asia, South-East Asia
(both +9%) and South Asia
(+8%). Many destinations
reported double-digit growth,
with Vietnam (+36%), the
Republic of Korea (+34%), Japan
(+24%) and Sri Lanka (+15%) in
the lead.
ITB WORLD TRAVEL TRENDS

Sri Lanka Tourist Arrivals by Year - 2001 to 2016 REPORT 2016 / 2017
16
NUMBERS FROM KEY DESTINATIONS
DESTINATION SEYCHELLES
Top 10 source markets for Seychelles in 2016 :
Source Market # Tourists % Change vs 2015
1 France 43,066 13.3%
2 Germany 39,488 9.1%
3 United Arab Emirates 24,091 5.0%
4 Italy 22,845 12.1%
6 China 14,549 4.2%
7 South Africa 12,354 -8.3%
8 Russia Federation 11,465 -6.6%
9 Switzerland 12,333 6.8%

Seychelles had 303,177 tourists in 2016
10 India 10,916 29.3% which was 9.7% growth from 2015 that
had 276,233 tourists.
DESTINATION MAURITIUS
Top 10 source markets for Mauritius in 2016 :
Source Market # Tourists % Change vs 2015 Mauritius had 1,275,227 tourists in 2016
which was 10.8% growth from 2015 that
1 France 271,963 6.9% had 1,151,252 tourists.
2 Reunion Island 146,203 1.6%
4 South Africa, Rep. of 104,834 2.8%
5 Germany 103,761 37.9%

These figures show that
6 India 82,670 14.6%
alternative destinations for
7 People's Rep. of China 79,374 -11.4% Maldives are growing in
8 Switzerland 36,272 18.2% popularity are performing
better in markets which used o
9 Italy 31,337 7.4%
be the dominant source
10 Australia 18,559 4.1% markets for Maldives.
17
Importance of
[7]
DESTINATION MARKETING
RETURN OF INVESTMENT
Importance of
Tourism industry directly contributes to

more than 70 percent of the GDP.
100 rooms resort direct return to the Government through

Tourism GST alone.
This example is to demostrate what the government could earn in

terms of revenue, if a resort of 100 rooms were to have an
average occupancy of 70% throughout the year with average daily
room rate of 250$ (excluding service charge and green tax).
Example 01 This isnt taking into account the Land Lease Revenue or Business
Profit Tax or Import Taxes or Green Tax or Airport Service Charge
or Airport Development Fee.
- 70% Average Occupancy throught the year

- 250$ Average Daily Room Rate
With a total revenue of above assumption will be 6,387,500 US$

per year, in which the government could earn 766,500 US$ just
through TGST 12%.
As per last years statistics from Ministry of Tourism, the average

stay has fallen to 5.6 days and the destination occupancy rate is
at 68%. The total bed nights as per Ministry of Tourism for 2016
was 7,140,350.
Internet (29%) is the most common channel visitors
GETTING NOTICED. used to discover about the Maldives in February

2017 while word of mouth (24%) is the second most
SOURCES OF IN-
important source. Travel agents (12%), magazines
(9%) and television (9%) are also key sources of
information used by international visitors to
FORMATION
discover about the Maldives.
VISITOR SURVEY REPORT 2016
19
Return on Investment
As per the MMA figures, the Government Direct Revenue from

Tourism for 2016 was 414,695,201 US$ and with 1,286,135
tourists’ arrivals in 2016, means per tourist government
revenue is estimated 322 US$.
Example an investment of 1,000,000 US$ which can be

estimated to be utilized for 10 small trade fairs in new markets,
20 magazine ads, 10 press trips to Maldives, 5 road shows in
new market, social media ads, limited TV ads and etc.
In the above scenario, this investment should attract at least

100,000 new tourists to the Maldives which could in return
earn the government in revenue 33,200,000 US$ for merely
investing in 1,000,000 US$.
This assumption means 1 US$ spend has a 33 US$ return.
Disclaimer: This example is subject to many variances and

elements, and doesn’t not take into account marketing for
branding or market retention which is also as important in
established and traditional source markets.
20
[8]
2018 Destination Marketing Budget
We have come to understand that Ministry of Tourism will be sending the tourism
marketing budget to Finance Ministry very soon, and then they would be
presenting this to parliament when it recommences next month.
We were lobbying last year as well to get bigger budgets for tourism marketing as
this is vital for the growth of tourism in a time of high competition with increased
supply that doesn’t match the demand for Maldives.
Last year, parliament gave only 20% of the required budget from Ministry of
Tourism which doesn’t justify Maldives brand presence in the global market space
and for a country where Two-Thirds of its GDP depends directly and indirectly on
Tourism. Marketing is the only cost that gives a direct return for a destination like
the Maldives where unlike before there is direct tax revenue for the government.
Maldives tourism marketing has been spending almost the same amount of
money it did ten years ago, where the bed capacity has doubled for the destina-
tion but the marketing budget remaining same.
Today Maldives competing destinations are outspending us regarding marketing

and creating the appetite more for their destinations, and this is evident in any
discussion with any major Tour Operators from Europe or the even Middle East.
Recent Eid Holidays was clear to many high-end resorts, where they had the least
number of bookings from Middle East market that was present to many resorts
long-standing history of even 15 years. Many internationally public listed hotel and
resort brands are showing a double-digit drop in revenue comparing to previous
21
Importance of
[9]
MARKETING BUDGETS IN COMPETETIVE DESTINATIONS
Seychelles
10.7 Million US$
Mauritius
16.7 Million US$
Sri Lanka
22.2 Million US$
Indonesia
225 Million US$
It is noted that Mauritius Tourism increases by more than 43% spending Spending millions on marketing campaigns makes
from previous years. sense for many countries, which rely on tourists for a
significant share of their GDPs. A modest investment
Total government spending on just tourism marketing, promotion and can also yield a substantial return: The Visit Denmark
visitor-related infrastructure are expected to top $413 billion this year, campaign reported a return of $16 in revenue for each
according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). That's up 10 dollar spent, while Tourism Ireland found a return of
percent from five years ago, and it's expected to increase another 29 10 percent for its television and online advertising,
percent over the next decade. according to a WTTC report.
The Seychelles, an archipelago northeast of Madagascar, spends more Smaller nations may have little choice if they want to
than 22 percent of its budget — excluding defense and welfare costs — keep their economies work. Countries like Seychelles
on total travel and tourism expenditures, according to WTTC figures (21 percent of GDP comes from tourism), Malta (14
reported by the World Economic Forum. The Dominican Republic and percent), Mauritius (11 percent) and Barbados (11
Jamaica also spend a hefty portion of their national budget on tourism, 22 percent) are primarily reliant on foreign visitors. Cape
and 17 percent, respectively. Jordan, Iceland, and Singapore pay over 10 Verde, Croatia, and Cambodia are also dependent for
percent. over 10 percent.
22
Importance of
Overall spending on tourism and travel by governments has recently

recovered since the global recession started in 2008. But the
government are now more careful about how that money is being
spent — they can use modern advertising methods to target
audiences that are most likely to show up and spend money, or
other media productions (think New Zealand and Lord of the Rings)
“In other words, and use public-private ventures to get the word out
.
national marketing Competition is heating up, European governments have long
assumed that travelers will remember to stop by the Eiffel Tower or
campaigns work, and the Tower of London. But with so many other travel destinations
available, they're going to have to work harder to keep travelers
for many countries, from heading to a blue-watered Caribbean beach or remote

Malaysian resort or Maldives instead.
they are an economic “Most Governments sometimes think that people are going to come
anyway, and they need to see what would happen if the marketing
necessity.” is taken away," said Rochelle Turner, Director of Research at WTTC.
"They don't quite understand the level of competition between
destinations and the transferability of goals in the minds of
consumers."
“In other words, national marketing campaigns work, and for many
countries, they are an economic necessity.”
23
[ 10 ]
International trade fairs exhibited & participated by

MATATO in last 12 months
As Part of the destination marketing efforts by this organisation,

MATATO in the recent years has increased the number of travel
trade events that we take part in, giving same opportunity for our
members partner resorts and guesthouses. In the past 12 months
MATATO has taken part in 15 international travel shows and
exhibitions.
MATTA Fair Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – September 2016

PATA Travel Market Jakarta, Indonesia – September 2016
BITB New Delhi, India - October 2016
World Travel Market London, UK - November 2016
MAKITA Helsinki, Finland - January 2017
STATE India – February 2017
PATA Chapter Colloquium Berlin, Germany – March 2017
ITB Berlin, Germany - March 2017
Riyadh Travel Fair Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – April 2017
Arabian Travel Market Dubai - April 2017
WTM Connect Asia – May 2017
PATA Annual Summit Negombo, Sri Lanka – May 2017
India International Travel Mart (IITM) Bangalore, India - July 2017
SriLankan Airlines Road Show Sydney, Melbourne July/August 2017
PATA Travel Market Macau - September 2017
24
Importance of
[ 11 ]
Conclusion
A United Effort for Destination Marketing

“We must feel proud to represent an industry by which this nation is identified with, and directly
contributes to more than two-thirds of the economy. Such dominance on the livelihood of thousands
of people, more conclusively of a nation, places a huge responsibility on our shoulders, as caretakers
of this industry, to sustain this lifeline for the generations to come.
Numbers and statistics show that we have stronger competition today and more competitors than a
decade back. To counter the changes in global markets and to accommodate the evolution of our
industry, we need to stage a more inclusive strategy for development and to promote a vision of the
future that is shared and contributed by all stakeholders.
MATATO is an organization that represents the local travel agents and tour operators. We continue to
have a robust and productive partnership with Ministry of Tourism, and related government institutes,
MMPRC, and fellow tourism organizations. We are in partnership with some of the leading hoteliers
and corporate labels in the Maldives. We believe that, as a civil organization, our biggest strength is
the ability to coordinate and channel resources among our partners and members. It is this synergy
that enables us to deliver our mandate and related initiatives. A lot of lobbying efforts are made
possible and fruitful because we understood the importance having a collective approach with all
stakeholders to resolving our differences and challenges.
2017 marks International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, underlying the importance of
harnessing the power of traveling to build sustainable economies and societies a theme that perfectly
reflects the primary mandate of this organization, empowering Maldivians in the tourism industry,
through employment and entrepreneurship.
Our portfolio mainly features, publications, travel events, training, seminars, conferences, internation-
al travel exhibitions, and roadshows. So far in 2017, we have organized three training programs in
which more than 180 people participated. We have also exhibited in 9 travel exhibitions this year,
more than 50% up from 2016. Maldives Travel Awards which is developed to be a robust marketing
platform for Maldivian Travel Industry is presented in three spate editions in 2017. As organization
year by year, we double our efforts across the board in all our initiatives, because we understand that
more needs to be done, to cater the changes and the continued influx of properties in the market.
We reiterate on our call to join forces in the industry with strong leadership from key stakeholders
that will help us channel and pool our resources in a united effort to turn the challenges that we have
into opportunities that will flourish.”
End.
25
www.travelawards.mv
10
1. You get the best of the destination
Not everyone is a travel agent. And not every travel expert is
local. Local travel agents in Maldives being based on the
destination gives them access to visit resorts on various familiar-
Reasons
ization trips on frequent basis thus understanding the products
they sell and having different product training and being
well-traveled themselves can offer you options you might not
have considered.
to Use a 2. Our time is precious

Time is valuable, and you can save your precious time. It’s your
holiday; it’s for you to enjoy, let the experts plan it. Researching
MATATO
and organizing a trip takes time, patience and perseverance.
Local travel agents can save you time as they experienced and
highly knowledgeable in resorts, hotels, and guest houses they
sell. Unlike an online site when you book your holiday, and then
you’re on your own, travel agents are contactable each step of
member
the way. With MATATO travel agents you ensure a stress-free
holiday.
3. Enjoy competitive and exclusive rates
Travel
The most affordable rates aren’t always found online, especially
when it comes to luxury travel. Various local travel agents
specialize in different resorts and can give good volumes to
resorts thus having access to best wholesale rates.
Agent 6. Unparalleled flexibility

Flexibility must not be an option or privilege. MATATO agents
understand that individual elements of service are unique to this
destination and its status as a luxury heaven. Hence, we believe
that flexibility should be part of the service offered to the
4. You will not have to settle for less
traveler. Travel agents know how busy their clients are so they
That sold-out resort that you waited too long to book? It’s not
always aim to be flexible and easy to work with in every way and
always sold out. Many properties will hold inventory in reserve.
are contactable around the clock.
Other rooms may be in the hands of local travel agents who dole
them out to partner travel companies.
7. Seal of Recognition – We have your back.
In cases of unexpected and unfortunate events, travelers might
5. Our agents are your advocates
sometime feel stranded having to work things out in an unfamil-
Your travel agent is your advocate. Having the presence in the
iar environment. When things go wrong, a local travel agent
destination, and well-communicated business networks between
knows who to call to get it fixed on the spot. Also, MATATO
local travels agents and hoteliers, ensure that your every
membership ensures that the travel agent in the subject to
demand, need is attended. Whether you need an upgrade to an
service standards and best practices as the strict code of conduct
ocean view or an emergency, your travel agent will be there for
for members companies. MATATO membership is a seal of
you, intervening with suppliers on your behalf.
recognition.
8. Your holiday is tailored for you
Travel experiences for every traveler must be as unique as the
destination. Our agents are experts at identifying the perfect fit for
you. They can offer customized experiences that no one else can.
Most of them 20 or 30 years in the business, a travel professional has
the connections to arrange the upgrades and little touches that are
not available to the public. Because in this broad and unusual and
beautiful world, you just don't know what you don't know. So, ask
someone who does—ask our local travel agents!
9. Give back to the community

When you plan your holiday with a MATATO travel agent, you are
giving back, direct to the people, the communities who are the
caretakers of this destination. By choosing local travel agents, you will
be contributing to the growth of small-medium businesses that
support livelihood for many families, which in return, increases
wealth in island communities and creates more opportunities for
young people to participate in this industry. As a traveler, choosing a
local travel agent is a significant gesture of your support for
sustainability and local empowerment.
10. Journey of a – long lasting relationship

And finally, on our list of top 10 reasons to book with a travel agent is
the advantages of building a long-lasting relationship. By talking to a
travel agent about what you want from your holiday, they get to
know you and your needs. Over time, they learn what you like and
don’t like on your travels, and this relationship means they can create
your dream holiday. “You build a relationship with your travel
agency,”, this means we can perfect our customers’ every need for
future bookings to ensure an enjoyable holiday every time. As a
result, a travel agent always has the holiday-maker’s best interests at
heart.’
M A L D I V E S T R A V E L A W A R D S
T H E P R E M I E R T R A V E L E V E N T O F M A L D I V E S
Importance of
PUBLISHED ON 27TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators

No.17, Orchidu Magu, 04th Floor
Male' Maldives
Tel: +960 3344929 Fax: +960 3344909
info@matato.org

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MATATO

Maldives Travel Conference 2016 05

Tourism Facts and Figures 07

Key Source Markets and Challenges 10

China out-bound Travel Market 13

Numbers from Key Destinations 16

Destination Marketing - Return of Investment 18

Destination Marketing Budget 21

Marketing Budgets in other Destinations 22

MATATO Trade Fairs 24

We are at an opportune stand as one of the leading destinations of the Indian

[2] Maldives Travel Conference 2016

Coverage and Impact

[ 3] Facts & Figures

Tourist Arrivals 97,073 108,396 125,336 ^

Statistics compared on January 2015, 2016 & 2017

Operational bed Revenue from

In 2016, STR data showed Maldives seeing decreases

As per Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) data from

Regardless, Maldives opening 11 new resorts in 2016

2014 2015 2016

Direct Revenue MVR 5,621,500,000 6,532,800,000 6,394,600,000

MVR 14,999,000,000 16,669,300,000 17,673,700,000

63.2% of total GST revenue collected in 2016

MIRA Annual Report 2016

Statistics – August 2017

According to MIRA, overall revenue generated from various

Looking into the statistics of Business Proﬁt Tax (BPT), it also

THE KEY SOURCE MARKETS

Top 14 source markets for

7 France 40,487 -3.7%

9 USA 32,589 11.2%

11 South Korea 29,580 -10.4 Germany 57,720 60,522 4.8%

12 Australia 23,584 19.5%

THE KEY SOURCE MARKETS

One of the key things highlighted at the

In the ﬁrst half of 2017, China’s outbound

Visitor numbers to Greater China improved

Visitor numbers to the Rest of the World

Chinese Arrival Statistics,

The shows from 2014 to present, monthly comparisons

The above graph shows from 2014 to present, monthly

Thus this proves Chinese market is growing to our compet-

“This year’s boom in Asian outbound

Rolf Freitag, IPK International Founder

Competing destinations for

27 destinations offer visa-free entry for Chinese citizens

UAE Saint Kitts and Nevis Samoa

27 destinations offer visa-on arrival for Chinese citizens

[6] NUMBERS FROM KEY DESTINATIONS

Source Market # Tourists % Change vs 2015

2 China 271,577 26% Top 10 source markets for

5 France 96,440 12%

7 Australia 74,496 17%

8 Russia 58,176 -6%

9 USA 54,254 15%

10 Canada 44,122 17%

Sri Lanka had 2,050,832 tourists in 2016

ITB WORLD TRAVEL TRENDS

1 France 43,066 13.3%

2 Germany 39,488 9.1%

3 United Arab Emirates 24,091 5.0%

4 Italy 22,845 12.1%