President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, via a presidential decree, has renamed Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), which is currently facing a financial crisis and fears of bankruptcy, to Visit Maldives Corporation Limited.
The presidential decree which formalized the change was published on Sunday.
In addition to renaming MMPRC to Visit Maldives, the presidential decree also underscored plans to amend the company’s Articles of Association and Memorandum of Association.
MMPRC, now Visit Maldives, is a government-owned company established on March 4th, 2010, during former president Mohamed Nasheed’s administration to promote Maldives as a tourist destination.
Visit Maldives plays a key role in promoting the Maldives globally, engaging in activities such as participating in international travel fairs, organizing roadshows, and launching various travel campaigns.
Visit Maldives is running 25 different campaigns at the moment, the most expensive of which is its collaboration with top English Premier League club Liverpool FC. The corporation has allocated a budget of MVR 20.6 million for the campaign, which will run from March 13, 2024 to May 31, 2028.
The Parliament’s State-owned Enterprises Committee recently compiled a report following a review of the status of both Visit Maldives and Maldives Integrated Tourism Development Corporation (MITDC).
In the report, the Committee stressed that Visit Maldives have more debt than assets.
The committee concluded that Visit Maldives is heavily reliant on state funding to run core campaigns and repay loans. It recommended the company to explore ways to cut costs and boost its revenue in order to become self-sufficient.
The report underscored that Visit Maldives has not generated a profit since 2020, and does not have enough funds to run its campaigns. The Corporation is at risk of bankruptcy.
According to the report, the main reason for the bankruptcy fears is the MVR 203 million in losses accumulated during the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) administration.
Visit Maldives was also embroiled in corruption allegations during former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration, resulting in the theft of around MVR 1.4 million in state funds.