The Maldives Wants 2027 to Be About More Than the Resort

The Maldives has taken its 2027 tourism campaign to the international trade. At World Travel Market London on 3 November, the country presented Visit Maldives Year 2027 – Celebrate the Sunny Side, a year-long programme of island festivals, culture, cuisine, wellness, adventure and marine activities alongside resort celebrations.

The London briefing introduced to overseas media and travel businesses a campaign already under way at home. President Mohamed Muizzu designated 2027 as Visit Maldives Year in his February address, and the national campaign was formally launched in October. The aim is to give visitors more reasons to explore beyond the familiar private-island resort holiday, involving island communities, producers and tourism companies.

The Maldives brought 161 delegates to the show, including 136 participants from 62 tourism companies. Tourism ministry figures cited for January to October 2026 put arrivals at 1,762,751, with Europe accounting for 56.9%. That makes the European trade audience in London a central target for the campaign.

Details remain thin for now. Individual event dates and a complete public calendar were not provided in the launch announcement, so travellers hoping to time a trip around a particular festival will have to wait for more information. The direction is clear, though: the destination wants to broaden what a Maldives trip can include.

Sources: Travel PR News