Air access – watch this space!
WHILE Lonely Planet
describes the Maldives
as “an obvious choice
for a true holiday of a lifetime”,
in South Africa it has remained
far from an obvious choice. The
main reason? Air access.
For Gan in the southern
Maldives, that could change
soon. Daphne Osborne, md
of Starlight Holidays (the
GSA for the Gan flights), says
the loads on the direct Gan
charter flights in December and
January were full, if not sold
out. She says negotiations are
under way to have a weekly
operation from OR Tambo
to Gan. “It is premature to
make any announcements in
this regard until everything is
finalised … watch this space!”
Brenda Mitchell, head
of sales at World Leisure
Holidays, says: “We are
definitely seeing more interest
in the Maldives, however the
lack of ‘direct’ flights and the
travelling time prevent this
destination from getting its fair
share of support from the SA
market.”
Alexis Bekker, head of sales
and marketing South Africa
& Africa for LUX*, says the
Maldives is an “aspirational,
bucket-list destination” where
people want to go, but says
not having a direct flight has
impacted sales, despite
increased activity to promote
it. “The increased exposure is
certainly helping and agents
are more aware of their
options,” says Alexis.
Janine Pienaar, head
of marketing for Perfect
Destinations, is more
optimistic. “Maldives as a
destination is continuing to
grow and grow. I think this is
due to the increased marketing
within the SA market by
ourselves and others, as well
as the increased awareness by
the hoteliers within Maldives
of South Africa as an attractive
emerging market.” These
efforts coupled with good
pricing and unforgettable
experiences have made the
destination more accessible for
South Africans, she says.
“There is a steady increase in
interest in the Maldives. Over
the past couple of years the
destination has become more
affordable, more family oriented
and it is still top of many
bucket lists,” says Margaret
Park, senior product manager
for The Holiday Factory. She
cites the arrival stats – South
Africa is up 11,5% up to the
end of October 2018 compared
with the same period in 2017.
All aboard for Gan
Brenda says the direct flight
to Gan had a positive impact,
thanks to the shorter travelling
time. “The north has always
been popular due to a simpler
way of getting to the hotel from
Malé – mostly by speedboat
or seaplane transfer.” Celeste
Muir, marketing manager of
Thompsons Holidays, says the
six-hour flying time on the Gan
charter opens up the southern
areas. “However, there are
limited resorts on offer.
Scheduled domestic flights out
of Gan to other atolls would
increase interest in Maldives
further as an affordable, easyto-reach destination.”
What about Malé?
Alexis says the Gan flight has
been great for destination
exposure but with little benefit
for the properties in the greater
part of the Maldives. “We are
hoping that the route will be
reconsidered to travel to Malé
due to its success. This has
been discussed and on the
cards for the last two years.
The activity around Maldives is
long overdue and has revived
interest from travellers and the
industry at large,” she says.
Indeed, Maldivian Airlines
has expressed interest in
adding SA to its network, but
there have been some delays.
“As Maldivian Airlines is a
national carrier and the route
is a scheduled operation, the
Johannesburg leg is connected
to onward routes, primarily
into China,” says Janine. “This
ensures its sustainability and
viability. Due to heavy global
traffic into China, the onward
leg has incurred delays.” No
firm launch date can be
released yet, says Janine.
North v South
Thompsons Holidays
recently sent 12 agents on
a fam trip via Gan. They
visited three resorts and
found that the southern
properties catered for a
variety of markets. “They
all came back saying
that it is a picture-perfect
destination and the photos
you see are the real thing
– not photoshopped,” says
Celeste Muir.
Daphne Osborne says
passengers and agents
enjoyed the evening flight
from OR Tambo, arriving in
their hotels by noon. “Also,
the fact that the resorts
in the south are five to 15
minutes from Gan Airport
appealed to travellers.”
Daphne says Malé has
become crowded and the
resorts are difficult to
access, most requiring
long boat rides or seaplane
transfers. “There are fewer
resorts in the south, so it’s
much less commercial than
the long-developed north.
As long as the packages
remain good value, which we
achieved on the pilot project,
and the ease of the journey
to Maldives continues, we
expect there will be a bigger
interest in the south.”
Megan D’Arcy, product
manager – International
for kulula holidays, says
the north is a lot more
established and the tourism
infrastructure offers more
choice for passengers while
the south is quite remote by
comparison. “This area will
take a while to catch up to
the more established north
in terms of development.
I think the south could
potentially capture the
budget market, but I do not
foresee the north losing its
grip on the market in the
immediate future,” she says.
For Janine, it is not north
or south that is important,
but understanding what the
resort offers and what the
client is after. She explains
that it is more important to
understand the client and
match them appropriately
to the resort. “For example,
some resorts are very small
with very limited facilities,
ideal for downtime, reading
a book and escaping the
modern world; others can
be very large and geared for
high activity with loads on
offer, from water sports to DJ
nights; some are tailored to
groups and others suited to
families with amazing kids’
clubs and facilities on offer,
while others see themselves
purely as a romantic
couples’ destination.
A match for Mauritius
MALDIVES is now a
competitor for Mauritius,” says
Celeste Muir of Thompsons
Holidays.
She says Maldives had
to relook its target markets
and rates and provide more
affordable offerings. As a
result, the all-inclusive options
available have changed
perceptions of the Maldives
to being a value-for-money
destination.
Janine Pienaar of Perfect
Destinations agrees. “The
accommodation prices for
Mauritius have consistently
increased over the last few
years, whereas the pricing for
Maldives has become more
competitive, bridging the
gap between the two island
destinations.” She says, in the
past the Maldives was out of
reach for many South African
travellers, but aggressive
tactical offers within the threeand four-star resort category
opened it up. “Maldives
offers value for money and
differs from other destinations
as even on a low budget
the destination is five-star.
All-inclusive remains a firm
favourite within this sector.”
Seasonality is an important
factor in competitive pricing
of Indian Ocean destinations,
says Margaret Park from The
Holiday Factory. She says a
seven-night all-inclusive holiday
in the Maldives in low season
can be less expensive than a
seven-night island holiday on
a half board basis in one of
the closer island destinations.
“Maldives resorts have
become very generous with
special offers so, whilst the
airfares are more expensive,
the actual hotel pricing is
very competitive. Maldives
competes strongly with
other Indian Ocean Island
destinations, not only
Mauritius,” says Margaret.
Brenda Mitchell from World
Leisure Holidays, says while
there are definitely four-star
properties that compete with
their like in Mauritius, the
travelling is much longer and
the experience is completely
different.
Her sentiments are
shared by kulula holidays’
Megan D’Arcy, who says
although both destinations
offer beach holidays, each
offers a completely different
experience and they cannot
be compared. She says in
addition to Mauritius being
closer to South Africa, the
currency exchange rate is
more favourable to our market.
“There is always the chance
for great tactical offers in
Maldives, which would make
the comparison more realistic.
If pricing is similar for a
similarly related property, I
would imagine the appeal of
Maldives beats Mauritius."
LUX* opens second Maldives property
ON FEBRUARY 1, LUX*
North Malé Atoll Maldives
opened its doors.
The luxury resort
comprises 67 doublestorey residences on
Olhahali, a six-hectare
island accessible by luxury
speedboat or scenic
seaplane from Malé.
Each residence features
a private pool and is on
the beach or over the
water. The spa offers
treatments for couples
such as scrubs, massages
and aromatherapy bathing
rituals. Clients can also
opt for a private treatment
at their villa.
Activities include
snorkelling and scuba
diving, yachting and various
water sports.
Book it!
From R24 838pps your clients can enjoy a seven-night stay
at the four-star Sun Island Resort & Spa, set on the island of
Nalaguraidhoo. The Thompsons package includes return flights
from Johannesburg to Malé (including airline levy), return airporthotel speedboat transfers, seven nights’ accommodation in a
standard beach bungalow, and breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.
The package must be booked by February 13 and is valid for travel
from May 1 to July 31.
Selling Maldives? Add Addu to your portfolio
Canareef – yes we can!
A SHORT 10 minutes from
the airport on a speedboat
brings you to Canareef, the
271-villa, four-star resort on a
private island. Guests have the
option to book sunrise, sunset
or Jacuzzi villas. Sunset and
Jacuzzi villas have direct beach
access to the western side of
the island, while sunrise villas
overlook the eastern beach,
which is more rugged and
less safe for swimming. The
resort’s two pools are both
serviced by bars. The hotel gift
shop has a display of wedding
dresses for sale, ready and
waiting for guests to take the
ultimate plunge.
Ultimate luxury – Shangri-La Villingili Resort & Spa
Arriving on a boat, the first
thing you see at Shangri-La is
the classic postcard-version
of the Maldives: villas on
stilts in the turquoise water.
With 132 villas in eight
categories, the luxury resort
could have exactly what
your client is looking for.
Six restaurants and bars,
a spa and plenty of water
activities will keep them busy,
although drinks prices are
high. High-end luxury-seeking
guests might like to stay
in one of the resort’s two
presidential suites, complete
with private butler, full-time
chef, dedicated massage
therapists and ocean-side
infinity pool.
Equator Village’s quiet convenience
Less than a kilometre up the road from the airport, the old British military base has been transformed into the 78-room Equator Village. It is perfect for guests needing to spend a night or two before heading off to their island resort of choice. The rooms are dotted amongst lush gardens, with the dining room and pool (complete with swim-up bar) serving as the central point. Scuba diving takes centre stage, with a number of diving locations on offer, including the site of the wreck of an Allied-forces fuel tanker, sunk by German U-boats and since reclaimed by marine ecosystems. Today, the wreck is an artificial reef that supports a number of marine species.
