This year, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Destination Marketing Forum 2022 (PDMF) was held in Songkhla, Thailand beginning on the 4th of August. PATA is a two-day exhilarating insightful event where the destination travels top minds gather to discuss vital issues like managing growth in tourism in lesser-known destinations. Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed, The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/Visit Maldives), was invited by PATA as an expert speaker on the subject of “Destination Marketing in the age of COVID-19”, this discussion was carried out by a high-level panel consisting of esteemed guests like Mr. Dinh Ngoc Duc, the Director General of Tourism Marketing Department of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and Ms. Noredah Othman, CEO of Sabah Tourism. The event was also attended by delegates of commendable statures such as the Programme Officer for Culture, UNESCO Thailand, Ms. Montakarn Suvanatap Kittipaisalsilp, and the Senior Vice President of MICE Capability and Innovation, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Ms. Supawan Teerarat.
Mr. Thoyyib speaking in the forum highlighted the efforts of MMPRC during the COVID-19 crisis and noteworthy achievements like the ‘Safe Travels’ stamp by the World Travel Tourism Council on September 18, 2020, the immensely successful digital campaign “Maldives; The Sun Will Shine Again” with over 850,000 viewers worldwide and vaccination drive conducted with the Ministry of tourism.
