(TAN): Maldives has received the World’s Leading Destination award at the Grand Final of the World Travel Awards 2020 competing against 22 other destinations including Dubai, Malaysia, Spain, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka. This is the first time Maldives won the award in the history of the island nation, which is also the most distinguished award category of World Travel Awards.
Upon receiving the award, Minister of Tourism H. E. Dr. Abdulla Mausoom said, “Maldives winning World’s Leading Destination award is a strong endorsement of the popularity of Maldives amongst international tourists. This superb win reflects the strong determination and sound policies of HEP Solih and his administration, strive and strides of travel and tourism industry partners and employees; targeted #VisitMaldives promotion by industry partners and MMPRC and of course the warm smile of Maldivians. Congratulations!”
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Maldives as a whole and the travel and tourism industry was hit hard, and it caused an unprecedented level of disruption. As the lockdown began, the marketing plans of the government’s national tourism body, VisitMaldives came to a complete halt, and the campaigns had to be shifted to digital platforms.
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Despite the challenges over the course of the year, this accomplishment is a remarkable testament of the love of tourists from around the world, as well as the massive effort and continuous contribution made by each and every one of the stakeholders, in order to revive and restore the industry in Maldives.
Speaking on behalf of Visit Maldives, the Managing Director Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed expressed his sincere appreciation and gratitude to everyone who voted for Maldives and the tourism industry stakeholders. He said, “We are beyond thrilled to receive the World’s Leading Destination award for the first time in the history of Maldives. This prestigious award means a lot to Maldives, especially as we achieved this during these difficult times.”
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World Travel Awards established in 1993, is the most prestigious honours program in the global travel and tourism industry recognised globally as the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence. It serves to acknowledge, reward, and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the global travel and tourism industry.
