SINGAPORE, 22 January 2024: The Maldives welcomed the first direct flight from Hong Kong to the Maldives last week since the Covid-19 pandemic closed Hong Kong in 2020.
A special ceremony was held on 19 January at Velana International Airport to mark the arrival of Hong Kong Airlines flight HX791 from Hong Kong International Airport, hosted by Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation.
Before the pandemic stalled travel worldwide, China consistently topped the arrival charts for visitors to the Maldives, recording 187,118 tourists in 2019.
Commenting on the market, MMPRC said it was confident the return of direct flights to the island nation would boost visitors this year. Until now, travellers from China had to connect with flights out of Singapore or Colombo in Sri Lanka.
In 2023, MMPRC conducted joint online promotions and familiarisation trips, closing the year with around 1.8 million tourist visits.
This year, MMPRC has lined up activities to revive bookings from the Chinese market, focusing on e-learning campaigns, digital promotions on leading Chinese apps, outdoor billboard marketing initiatives, familiarisation trips and social media campaigns.
