Maldives has participated in world class event, East Mediterranean International Tourism & Travel Exhibition (EMITT) 2019, in order to promote the destination as a whole and increase the exposure of the destination.

The event is one of the top four events of its kind worldwide, having a major industry gathering.

The event will be held for 4 days, starting from the 31^st of January to the 3^rd of February, hosted in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey, speaking at the opening ceremony, said, "Exhibitions are truly important events that bring together all industry players and professionals.

"At EMITT, we can meet with shareholders, clients and sector associations on one platform. The show enables us to discover more about the latest news and trends shaping the travel industry and where the market is headed in the future. EMITT therefore gives us the chance to really achieve the sectors goals," continued Mr Ersoy.

EMITT 2019 opened on 31^st January with a packed line-up of over 1,100 destinations, tour operators, and other travel service providers presenting their opportunities at Istanbuls TUYAP Centre for travel agents, tour operators, and tourists alike.

This year, the exhibition has grown 25% in terms of exhibitors and is expecting more than 57,000 visitors. Hacer Aydın, Tourism & Travel & Fashion Group Director for ITE Turkey, the organisers of EMITT, commented, "This year, new companies from Finland, Poland and Thailand will exhibit for the first time, as well as Indonesia and Malta joining a whole host of countries attending at ministerial level.

"We continue our tradition of bringing together tourism sector representatives and professionals from all over the world. We are organising the Hosted Buyer (invited tour operator) Programme, where we will host nearly 700 tour operators from more than 100 countries. In January 2018, we broke a record with more than 7,000 approved appointments. We aim to top this number, leading to new investments and partnerships," Aydın added.