The Maldives brought “The Sunny Side of Life” to the grey skies of London this autumn with the launch of the advertising campaign on London buses and bus stops, and at Waterloo train station.

The campaign, which was run by outdoor advertising corporation JCDecaux, ran from 23rd September – 6th October and saw 40 Maldives digital advertisements displayed on screens at bus stops near busy London train stations including Charing Cross, Leicester Square, Edgware Road, Paddington, Baker Street and Victoria.

Vibrant Maldives advertising also appeared at the digital screen situated inside Waterloo train station, which is the UK’s busiest train station* with an estimated 94.4 million people people passing through the station each year. It is estimated that the Waterloo digital screen received approximately 3.2 million impressions during the two-week campaign. Maldives advertising will also appear on a double decker bus from The Original Tour in London until 29th February 2020.

The advertisement visuals showcased the beauty of the Indian Ocean destination, which continues to be one of the most popular long-haul holiday destinations for UK travellers thanks to its picturesque islands, white sand beaches and crystal-clear lagoons.

The Maldives has undergone an expansion of its tourism infrastructure this year with an influx of new resorts, including several new family-friendly and adult-only properties, as well as high-end properties. Developments at Velana International Airport will also continue, which will mean the airport will be able to cater for over 7.5 million passengers, and in late 2019, the Maldives welcomed increased airlift for UK travellers with the launch of a new five-times-weekly flight from London Heathrow to Malé, via Bahrain, with Gulf Air in late October.

Speaking about the advertising campaign, Thoyyib Mohamed, Managing Director of MMPRC said: “We were thrilled to work with JCDecaux to bring the beautiful blue lagoons of the Maldives to London this autumn during the outdoor advertising campaign. The UK is an important and significant market for inbound tourism to the Maldives, so we hope the advertisements have encouraged the city’s busy commuters to consider our beautiful islands as a destination for their next escape.”

Visitor figures to the Maldives have continued to grow with the destination welcoming a total of 83,089 UK visitors arrived in the Maldives as of January – August 2019, showing a 10.5% increase from the 75,205 in the same period last year (2018). The UK is one of the most important markets for inbound tourist arrivals by nationality, firmly holding 7.3% of the total market share and steadily increasing year on year.