Maldives: The Official Partner Country of ITB Berlin 2016

This year marks the 50th Anniversary for ITB Berlin, taking place from 9 – 13 March 2016 in Berlin, Germany, and the Maldives is the official partner country of this leading travel trade show.

With 2016 marked as the Visit Maldives Year, ITB Berlin is a great opportunity for trade visitors and the general public to learn all about the tourism developments taking place in the Indian Ocean destination. 

The main objective of Visit Maldives Year 2016, a year-long campaign, is to position the Maldives as an exclusive tourist destination by showcasing the islands’ diversified tourism product and therefore reach the goal of significantly increasing global visitor arrivals by 1.5 million.

The Maldives will kick-start ITB 2016 at the CityCube Berlin on the exhibition grounds, with an opening ceremony on the eve of the trade show, highlighting the country’s cultural and historical wealth with Maldivian Boduberu dances and a fusion of traditional cuisine. The island nation, first exhibited at ITB Berlin in 1984 and this year occupies a larger display area of 583 square metres in Hall 5.2. Visit the Maldives at Stand 109, where a Maldivian setting will provide visitors with a perfect backdrop to have their photos taken in Maldivian costumes, admire the art of calligraphy sand and palm leaves art, taste Maldivian delicacies from fried yam and breadfruit to sweet coconut balls or win a trip for two to the Maldives.

Visit Maldives will bring a taste of the country’s spa and wellness offering with a ‘Spa Experience’ shoulder and back massage by Sun Siyam Iru Fushi at the Spa Corner of the Maldives stand.

Mr Mohamed Adam, Deputy Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation said, “This year, we have a number of new and exciting developments taking place in the Maldives including the Visit Maldives Year 2016 campaign. ITB Berlin offers the ideal platform to present our tourism product to the international market. For example, we have a number of events and activities planned throughout ITB that will showcase the destination’s unique selling points and the measures we are taking to conserve the natural environment, with projects such as the Tourism Adaptation Programme (TAP). We are looking forward to welcoming visitors to this leading world travel trade show and introduce them to our Maldivian cultural offering ’.