Maldives Launches Social Media Campaign to Woo Chinese Travellers

Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/Visit Maldives) has launched a social media marketing campaign on Weibo and WeChat, targeting the Chinese market. The campaign began in March and will run until May. The campaign, which is part of a string of promotional undertakings that began in March and runs through May, aims to capitalise on the importance of these social media platforms in the Chinese market, especially after the reopening of borders.

The primary objective of the campaign is to inspire Chinese travellers to choose the Maldives as their preferred destination. MMPRC’s previous campaigns during the lockdown phase in China have proven effective in maintaining destination visibility and strengthening market presence.

The campaign consists of 45 original posts and 12 articles on the Visit Maldives handles for Weibo and WeChat. These posts and articles highlight various products, experiences, and segments of the Maldives as an island destination. Additionally, a special campaign has been designed to give lucky winners a free holiday, with an estimated reach of 1.4 million users.

With WeChat boasting 1.17 billion monthly active users and Weibo following closely with 530 million monthly active users, these two platforms dominate the Chinese social media landscape. MMPRC has previously conducted 17 successful campaigns targeting the Chinese market on WeChat and Weibo.

Before 2020, the Chinese market was a significant contributor to tourist arrivals in the Maldives, accounting for 16.7% with 284,029 arrivals. However, travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic caused a decline in numbers. Since the resumption of direct flights from China in January 2023, China has quickly risen to become the 6th top source market, with 30,353 arrivals (4.4% market share) as of April 29, 2023.

MMPRC has planned an extensive marketing calendar for 2023. It includes e-learning campaigns, outdoor campaigns, joint-promotion campaigns, familiarization trips, social media campaigns, and participation in events like ITB China.