Visit Maldives shows off MICE credentials at London event

London’s Corinthia Hotel was the venue for the Maldives MICE event, 3 November. Fifty selected buyers and agents had the chance to discuss the opportunities available for hosting events in the Maldives. Twenty-six suppliers and the Maldives minister of tourism also joined the event. The evening involved a networking session for B2B meetings between suppliers and buyers, followed by a three-course dinner which included a presentation from Visit Maldives and a prize raffle. Fiona Marshall, senior event manager from Evolution International won a four-night stay at the Crossroads Maldives complex and Logan Gunasingham, creative event director at REZtron, won two Etihad flights to the Maldives. Dr Abdulla Mausoom, minister of tourism for the Maldives, stated: “Maldives is an ideal holiday destination, and everyone knows about it. But, also, Maldives is a MICE destination where we are diversifying our product and where we want all the markets to be visiting and experiencing the various products we have.” Thoyyib Mohamed, managing director of Visit Maldives, spoke to CMW about the uniqueness of the Maldives as a conference location: “The uniqueness would be sitting or lying near the beach, sipping a cocktail, and having your boardroom meetings. “There’s also underwater venues like restaurants, bars and rooms where you could have your boardroom. You can imagine what a big thing it would be for your brand to showcase your boardroom underneath the water.”