The Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) together with 43 representatives from 25 companies from the tourism industry of Maldives are taking part at the International French travel Market (IFTM) Top Resa held in Paris, France from 26-29 September 2017. The Maldives delegation headed by Mr. Haris Mohamed, the Acting Managing Director of MMPRC will be reaching out to the French market and showcasing the Maldives and its products on offer. 
Maldives will be represented at a 62 Sqm contemporary design setting portraying colorful imagery of the unique aspects of the destination’s tourism product.
This is the 39th year of Top Resa and it was first held in Deauville in 1978. It was then targeted for the leisure travellers. In 2008, IFTM Top Resa moved to Paris and became a multi-target show covering all grounds of travel: business, leisure and events. Today, major players in the leisure travel, event management and business travel gather to share and learn through the impressive range of destinations present, and discovering new products and exhibitors of the latest technological solutions sector.
Taking part at IFTM Top Resa is aimed to help regain the market share of the French market to the Maldives which has been in downfall for the past few years. This year’s marketing plan for the French speaking market have been strategized to strengthen the destination’s presence in the market and aggressively market Maldives through extensive PR and marketing campaigns targeting the French travel trade and consumers. Mr. Haris Mohamed, Acting Managing Director of MMPRC said, “France is a key market to the Maldives tourism industry. We are delighted to be at Top Resa once again with overwhelming support from the Maldives Tourism Industry to continue welcoming French tourists to the Sunny Side of Life”.
As one of the top generating markets as well as one of the important traditional markets to the Maldives, 2016 recorded a total of 40,487 tourist arrivals from France. By the end of July 2017, there were 26,149 tourist arrivals from France. This is an increase of 2.8% compared to the same period of 2016. France accounted for 3.4% of the total market share in this period from January to July 2017.
