This week was my annual pseudo-Maldives visit attending the World Travel Market in London where the Maldives tourism board always has a massive presence populated by a range of industry players but mostly the resorts themselves coming to speak to prospective agents and operators. Also, the Siyam group has gotten so prominent, especially in the UK market, that they occupied their very own dedicated area right next to the Maldives. Between the two stands, the Maldives occupied the front to back of the exhibition hall.
The annual event is a chance for me to escape the clocks-going-back, damp dreariness of oncoming British winter and wander among the tropical imagery of our fav tropical destination catching up with friends old and new from there. The show always brings out the true legends of the industry who have been side by side with me promoting the Maldives tourism industry for decades now: Jason Kruse (photo below), Aminath Hudaa, Scott LeRoi. In the past, I often made new acquaintances with the owners and key players in the resort where I could learn about their properties and they were keen to share experience and perspectives. But in recent years, the sector has grown so big and corporate that many of the people there are sales reps based out of HQs in Singapore, Dubai and Bangkok who were just focused on flogging inventory. The highlight of the day was the late afternoon reception hosted by the Siyam group launching its new branding which was packed with enthusiastic fans of the properties.
