Strategy to Shoreline with Ibrahim Shiuree

When I took office, my first commitment was to reconnect the industry as a unified ecosystem and listen closely to the voices that shape our tourism identity. This approach inspired the introduction of the Tourism Symposium—a national platform that gathered insights from councils, NGOs, resort operators, guesthouse owners, airlines, and community representatives.

Parallel to this, we enhanced our research capabilities with initiatives such as the Tourism Data Forum, enabling us to develop marketing strategies rooted firmly in real-time data and industry intelligence. We also improved internal collaboration within Visit Maldives, ensuring that all departments operate with shared objectives and synchronized planning.

Together, these efforts established a more cohesive, evidence-driven framework for promoting the Maldives across global markets—one that reflects the true needs, expectations, and aspirations of our tourism partners.

The core priority is strengthening domestic connectivity across the archipelago. Travelers today want to explore beyond the established central region, and to unlock this potential, we must ensure that island-to-island transfers are efficient, comfortable, and reliable.

Well-planned domestic airports with consistent service standards are fundamental. They must offer smooth transit experiences—shorter waiting times, dependable schedules, and well-managed transfer points between international and domestic routes.

Equally important is embedding Maldivian identity into airport design. Airports are the first and last touchpoints of the visitor experience, so they must reflect our culture, environment, and hospitality. All future developments are being approached with sustainability at the forefront, ensuring that infrastructure growth complements our fragile ecosystem rather than strains it.

Asia remains a key focus, where travel demand is rising rapidly, while Europe continues to be our strongest traditional market. One example of our evolving approach is the renewed partnership with Edelweiss Air, which has served the Maldives for over two decades. For the first time, Visit Maldives has entered into a direct collaboration with them—resulting in a notable increase in arrivals from Zurich and surrounding regions.

We are also refining our approach to traveler segmentation. Families, wellness-focused guests, adventure travelers, and multi-generational holidaymakers are increasingly viewing the Maldives as a destination of varied experiences—not simply a honeymoon paradise. These audiences represent significant opportunities for year-round growth and market diversification.

Our marketing philosophy is now decisively digital-first. The journey of inspiration and decision-making for travelers begins on a mobile screen, so our visibility must be strong, immediate, and emotionally resonant.

We are focusing heavily on video-driven storytelling, authentic content creation, and dynamic influencer partnerships while amplifying real-time engagement across platforms. Our campaigns are becoming more personalized, with targeted messaging that resonates with specific audiences rather than broad, generic promotions.

In the coming year, we will significantly expand our digital programmes, supported by advanced performance marketing tools and deeper data integration. This will allow us to measure impact with precision and tailor our outreach across every stage of the traveler’s journey.

Sustainable tourism is no longer optional—it is essential to our survival as an island nation. Visit Maldives is preparing to launch a comprehensive sustainability platform that equips industry partners with practical, measurable tools to reduce environmental impact.

One of the key milestones is our collaboration with LightBlue Environmental Consulting, led by Ben Lephilibert, to bring award-winning food waste management technologies to Maldivian resorts. This initiative supports both cost efficiency and environmental stewardship.

Under the Ocean Nation 2026 spotlight campaign, we will introduce visitor experiences focused on conservation—coral propagation, educational eco-travel journeys, and community-driven sustainability programmes. These initiatives aim to reinforce the message that protecting our natural heritage is a collective responsibility that directly fuels our success as a destination.

Our goal is to standardize, elevate, and digitalize the entire domestic travel experience. While the RTL ferry network has significantly improved public mobility, the next step is to make inter-island transfers seamless and intuitive for international visitors.

This means integrating digital booking platforms, ensuring clear and reliable schedules, offering premium transfer options, and enhancing coordination between international arrivals and domestic routes.

As the world’s leading island destination, our internal transport system must reflect the same level of efficiency, comfort, and reliability that guests experience in our resorts. It should be effortless, predictable, and aligned with global service standards.

Our fundamental differentiator has always been authenticity—an experience of tranquility, intimacy, and natural beauty that cannot be replicated elsewhere. But travelers today are seeking more than visual appeal; they seek meaning, connection, and discovery.

We are therefore highlighting new narratives centered around culture, nature, wellness, and adventure. While the iconic one island, one resort concept remains at the heart of our brand, we are also showcasing the rich diversity of guesthouses, inhabited islands, marine life, and community experiences.

Digital visibility will play an even greater role, and in 2026, we will introduce a major global brand collaboration—one of the most significant in our tourism history. This partnership will redefine how the Maldives is positioned and experienced by travelers across generations.

We are deepening our investment in data intelligence. Through the Tourism Data Forum, we have begun integrating new data systems that allow us to evaluate travelers’ interests, behavior patterns, and market dynamics with greater clarity.

AI-supported tools are being incorporated into our workflow to refine audience targeting, assess campaign performance in real time, and optimize spending with much higher accuracy. This data-driven transformation ensures that every marketing dollar generates measurable value and stronger conversion outcomes.

Partnerships are at the heart of our strategy. Our ongoing collaboration with Liverpool Football Club has already delivered exceptional global brand awareness, and we aim to build on such high-impact alliances.

On the local front, we are expanding our ambassador programmes to empower Maldivians—athletes, artists, creators, and professionals—to represent the Maldives on key global stages.

Most excitingly, in 2026 we will unveil one of the largest and most influential global brand collaborations the Maldives has ever engaged in. This partnership will elevate our product offerings, enhance traveler engagement, and open new horizons for how the world interacts with our destination.