Destination Seychelles received a global exposure as heads of Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) and local Tourism Ministry gave interviews on BBC and Sky, in London

Displaying a commanding presence at this year’s World Travel Market (WTM) London held from November 5 to November 7, STB Chief Executive, Mrs. Sherin Francis, and Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports & Marine, Mr. Didier Dogley, attended several high-profile media interviews and meetings with travel trade professionals.

WTM is the leading global event for the tourism industry and throughout the three days, Mrs. Francis and Minister Dogley held five broadcast and video interviews, including two for the BBC and two for Sky.

Mrs. Francis kicked off the three-day event by interviewing with Globetrotter TV, content producers for Sky 189 and Sky 192. She discussed Seychelles’ 16 percent growth in British arrivals, the country’s unique selling points and upcoming developments in 2019. Mrs. Francis then held another interview with Destination Weddings & Honeymoons Abroad.

Concerning trade media, Mrs. Francis held interviews with Travel Bulletin and a video interview with Travel Mole.

The STB Chief Executive also spoke at an important panel focused on how the travel industry is tackling the problem of plastic waste, such as Seychelles’ ban on common plastic items. The panel discussion included global sustainability leaders.

Minister Dogley and Mrs. Francis, also appeared on a live segment for Sky News Tonight, Sky’s flagship news programme, conducted by broadcaster Dermot Murnaghan. The Minister and Chief Executive addressed the launch of the World’s First Sovereign Blue Bond by Seychelles Vice President Mr. Vincent Meriton in Bali in October 2018. They further discussed Seychelles’ growth in British arrival in 2018, the debt swap, how sustainability influences tourism positively.

Day two of the WTM turned out to be just as successful. On Tuesday morning, Mr. Dogley and Mrs. Francis attended the UNWTO & WTM Minister’s Summit, a practical platform for tourism leaders of the public and private sectors to share best practices and explore investment opportunities in tourism technology mediated by top CNN anchor Richard Quest.

The Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports & Marine and head of the Tourism Board then carried out interviews with the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), Deco Mag and national trade journalist Karl Cushing. They covered topics ranging from new direct flights from the UK to various measures the government is taking to drive tourism growth.

To end the World Travel Market on their best note, Mr. Dogley and Mrs. Francis appeared on two BBC World Service radio interviews on Wednesday. The power duo spoke at BBC’s leading radio show, Newsroom, and Audrey Brown’s Focus on Africa.

The Minister’s and Chief Executive’s WTM schedule, held further editorial media meetings over the three-day event, with Cosmopolitan, Family Traveller and the award-winning blog ‘The Girl Outdoors’.

Looking back at this year’s WTM, Mrs. Francis said: “The World Travel Market in London has once again given us the chance to consolidate our position in the market, but we were also able to strengthen existing relationships and to forge new ones for 2019, especially among the UK media and travel trade.”

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