Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) on Tuesday signed an agreement with an Indonesian company to develop Virtual Reality (VR) 360 photography based multimedia content to promote Maldives tourism.
At a ceremony held at MMPRC office in capital Male, MMPRC’s Acting Managing Director Haris Mohamed and PT Gecko Digital Indonesia’s Founder and CEO James South signed the agreement.
In a statement, MMPRC said Gecko Digital will create standalone native application to promote the destination, and revamp the official destination promotion website of Maldives by including VR and 360 photography based technologies. The company will also provide extensive training and assistance to fully utilise the software, it added.
According to MMPRC, the contents created by Gecko Digital will be used at events and fairs participated by MMPRC to enhance the visitor experience through VR technology.
“It is believed that this collaboration will help promote the Maldives as a tourist destination and take Maldives to the highest level in the digital arena by providing the visitors with a virtual reality experience of the destination,” the statement read.
Gecko Digital is a leading multimedia provider that offers the highest quality HD 360 virtual reality, virtual tours, promotional videography, commercial still photography and creative content development for sophisticated web-based marketing.
MMPRC has earlier announced plans to participate in 17 international travel fairs in 2018, in a bid to ramp up tourism promotion.
Meanwhile, MVR 50 million (USD 3.3 million) have been allocated from the proposed budget for 2018 for tourism promotion.
Why VR and 360° Content Matters for Maldives Tourism
The Maldives competes with destinations worldwide for traveller attention. Static photos can’t capture what makes an overwater villa special, the colour of the lagoon at sunrise, or the layout of a private island resort. That’s where immersive 360° content changes the game for tourism boards and resort marketers.
When MMPRC partnered with our team to build VR experiences, the goal was simple: give potential guests a real sense of place before they book. Virtual tours let travellers explore a resort’s rooms, dining venues, and house reefs from anywhere in the world. It’s the closest thing to visiting without the flight.
How Resorts Use 360° Tours to Win Bookings
Resorts that publish interactive tours on their websites typically see longer session times and higher direct booking rates. Guests who explore a property in 360° arrive at the booking page already convinced. They’ve picked their villa category, walked the jetty, and pictured themselves at the spa.
If you’re a Maldives resort looking to add 360° content to your marketing mix, our virtual tour production service covers everything from capture to web integration. You can also check our rate card for current pricing.
What Luxury Hospitality Clients Say About Working With Us
The MMPRC partnership wasn’t a one-off project. It reflects how we work with hospitality clients across the Indian Ocean and beyond. Bernard Ramen, General Manager at One and Only Le Saint Geran, put it plainly: ‘I first worked with Gecko Digital to create a virtual tour of a previous property I worked at, and the results were extremely positive, with strong engagement and clear impact on bookings. So I had full confidence in bringing them back.’ That kind of repeat trust is what we aim for on every project. Luca Guerra, Director of Sales and Marketing at St. Regis Le Morne, noted that the virtual experience we built ‘had a positive contribution to business’ and became a go-to resource for his sales and reservations team. These aren’t vague wins. They’re measurable outcomes that matter to general managers and marketing directors who need tools that actually move the needle.
Working Across Resort Portfolios, Not Just Single Properties
One thing that sets our work apart from a typical production company is that we operate at portfolio scale. Shanaka Perera, VP Digital and Marketing at Minor Hotels and Resorts, which includes Anantara and Avani, said: ‘Their team delivers consistently high-quality work and understands how to present our properties in a way that aligns with our brand standards. As we continue to expand our portfolio, we look forward to working with them on many more projects.’ Ali Abdulla, General Manager at Atmosphere Core, echoed that consistency: ‘Working with Gecko Digital over the years has been consistent and seamless across production and post-production.’ For tourism boards like MMPRC, that matters. When you’re promoting an entire destination rather than a single resort, you need a production partner who can maintain quality and brand alignment across dozens of locations and content types. That’s exactly what we built our workflow to do.
What Does a VR Tourism Content Partnership Actually Involve?
We get this question a lot from tourism boards and resort marketing teams who are exploring immersive content for the first time. Here’s what a partnership like the one we built with MMPRC typically covers.
What content gets produced? We capture 360 photography and VR video across key destination touchpoints, including beaches, overwater villas, dining venues, and marine environments. The content is formatted for both web-based virtual tours and standalone native applications.
How is the content used? MMPRC used our content at international travel fairs to give visitors a live VR experience of the Maldives. The same assets also power destination websites, giving online visitors an immersive preview before they book.
Do you provide training? Yes. We provide hands-on training so your internal team can manage and present the content independently after delivery. You’re not left with a tool you don’t know how to use.
How long does a project like this take? Timelines vary based on the number of locations and content types involved. Get in touch through our inquiries page and we’ll give you a realistic production schedule based on your specific brief.
Add a pull-quote from Bernard Ramen, General Manager at One and Only Le Saint Geran: ‘I first worked with Gecko Digital to create a virtual tour of a previous property I worked at, and the results were extremely positive, with strong engagement and clear impact on bookings.’ Pair it with a one-sentence bridge: ‘That same outcome is what MMPRC wanted for the Maldives at scale — giving travellers a real sense of place before they commit to a long-haul flight.’ This gives the page a named source, a real result, and a direct link back to the MMPRC partnership story.
Add a short FAQ block with at least two entries. Example: Q: Why did MMPRC choose VR and 360° content to promote the Maldives? A: Static photography can’t convey the scale of an overwater villa or the colour of a lagoon at sunrise. MMPRC wanted potential travellers to experience the destination before booking, so they partnered with Gecko Digital to build a standalone native app and revamp the official destination website with immersive 360° content. Q: What did Gecko Digital deliver for MMPRC? A: Gecko Digital created VR and 360° photography content for use at 17 international travel fairs in 2018, built a standalone native app, and integrated immersive technology into the Maldives’ official tourism website. Mark these up with FAQ schema.
Add two to three sentences after the company description that anchor Gecko Digital’s credibility with specifics: ‘Gecko Digital has since worked with over 700 clients across the hospitality sector, including Anantara, Avani, and Marriott Hotels Mauritius. Shanaka Perera, VP Digital and Marketing at Minor Hotels and Resorts, notes the team delivers consistently high-quality work that aligns with brand standards across a growing global portfolio. That track record is what made them the right fit for a national tourism brief of this scale.’ This gives AI engines a named authority signal and connects the MMPRC story to a verifiable body of work.
