Tourism Ministry has allocated a USD12 million budget to market Maldivian tourism for the year 2013.

A prominent official of the Ministry explained that as more resorts and airports are to be opened in year 2013, in addition to new airlines travelling to the Maldives, more marketing is required.

“In 2013 Maldives must be advertised in additional markets. Decision has also been made to promote Maldives in up and coming markets. A lot of effort has to be put in to promote Maldives especially in Europe. So a sufficient budget is needed for 2013 to do all this,” official detailed.

According to the official, USD4.5 million is available for Maldivian tourism promotion within the budget allocated by the government. Official added that the budget was quite small when considering the circumstances at present.

“Industry requested to increase the budget to USD8 million. But the government at the time decided to give USD4.5 million. In 2012 we worked to market Maldives with the assistance of various parties of the industry,” Tourism Ministry official said.

Official also emphasized the importance of creating new documentaries about the Maldives and use major international media to promote luxury tourism in Maldives.

“There are a lot of new initiatives being introduced in the Maldives. Extensive promotion of underwater restaurants and big game fishing is needed. As the documentaries being used are outdated, we need to produce fresh documentaries. We have also decided to participate in more fairs and do a lot more to promote Maldives,” official stated.