The International Maldives Travel Market (IMTM) 2019 was officially inaugurated on Wednesday morning.
At a special ceremony held at Farukolhufushi on Wednesday morning the IMTM 2019 was officiated by the Speaker of Maldives Parliament Mohamed Nasheed.
The IMTM 2019 is participated by 50 leading international tour operators, representatives of 25 countries who will be visiting the fair to explore potential opportunities.
In addition to this 25 international buyers mainly focused on the guesthouses industry are also participating in the travel market.
IMTM 2019 is also introducing a new component this year, which is a special forum on sustainable tourism. Under the theme “Sustainable tourism as a tool for development” the forum will act as the perfect platform for its participants to engage in dialogue and address concerns, highlight on the possibilities of sustainable tourism in the Maldives.
The travel market is partnering with a local expert in sustainable tourism, Ms Aishath Azfa.
The forum aims to invite the key stakeholders and decision makers of the industry to discuss and explore in details about the best practices on sustainable tourism worldwide and incorporate such ideas and concepts here in Maldives in order to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The event’s main partner is Astrabon while Villa Hotels & Resorts serve as the accommodation partner, Hulhumale Development Corporation (HDC) serves as the host partner while the event partner is Stage Core and Public Service Media as the main media partner.
Other key partners of the event include Kaimoo Resorts and Hotels as the Gold Partner, Dhivehi Insurance as the insurance partner, Aster as the office supply partner, Island Aviation Services as the national airline partner while Dhiraagu serves the digital media partner and Coca-Cola Maldives serves as the beverage partner for the event.
In addition to this global airlines such as Singapore Airlines, IndiGo Airlines and Qatar Airways were appointed as official airline partners carrying the participants of the event.
The travel market will take place from 26 June until 27 June at Farukolhufushi of the satellite town of Hulhumale’.