(Monday May 6, 2019) Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly promote tourism and boost visitor arrivals to the Maldives.

Under the one-year agreement which takes effect from 5 May 2019, each organisation will invest US$180,000 in cash and US$40,000 in kind to fund activities such as roadshows, joint marketing campaigns and familiarisation trips for media and travel industry representatives. The activities are aimed at visitors from Australia, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the United States.

Tourist arrivals into the Maldives increased by 6.8 per cent year-on-year to 1.48 million for calendar year 2018. Since 2017, more than 30 per cent of annual tourist arrivals into the Maldives have come from the above mentioned countries. SIA first flew to the Maldives in March 1984 with a weekly Singapore–Malé service, while subsidiary SilkAir launched four-times-weekly services in October 2015. Currently, SIA and SilkAir operate a total of 16 weekly services to Malé, offering convenient connections to other destinations in the SIA and SilkAir network.

“We are pleased to be working with MMPRC to boost travel to the Maldives,” said Singapore Airlines Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, Mr Campbell Wilson.
“This partnership enables us to play a more active role in promoting sustainable tourism growth to the country. With nearly 140 destinations in more than 35 countries and territories in the SIA Group network, we are also well-placed to support the development of the Maldives’ tourism sector.”

“I am very excited that the Maldives and Singapore Airlines have embarked on a joint marketing venture for the very first time,” said Managing Director MMPRC, Mr Thoyyib Mohamed.
“This is a huge step forward for us in our effort to promote the destination. The campaign will address a key component of our strategy for 2019, and will cover promotions in six important target markets. I have no doubt that our partnership with such a prestigious airline will create incredible synergy and help raise the profile of the destination Maldives … the sunny side of life.”