MALE, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The Maldives state-owned Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) said it is seeking interested public relations corporations to boost tourism in the Maldives, local media reported Friday.

The MMPRC said the target PR corporations they are looking for are from China, China's Macao and China's Taiwan, and the selected companies would be hired on a one-year contract.

Currently, the Maldives government is carrying out a mega campaign to promote the holiday islands through its foreign offices and embassies across the globe.

Four diplomatic public relations corporations have also been hired to promote the Maldives as an ideal tourist destination.

The MMPRC is also digitally marketing the Maldives on various platforms, tourism ministry officials said.

According to statistics from the Tourism Ministry, a total of 726,515 holiday-makers have visited the Maldives during the first six months of 2018, marking a 10.5 percent increase in tourist arrivals when compared to the same period last year.

Over 127,000 Chinese tourists have visited the Maldives so far this year.