Four countries, 4 days, 1 destination: Seychelles Eastern European Roadshow 2019

On May 27, 2019, the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) set off for its annual Seychelles Dedicated Roadshow in Central and Eastern Europe.

The event lasted for 4 days during which representatives of hotels and DMC companies from the Seychelles Islands had an opportunity to meet potential trade partners in 4 countries including Poland (Warsaw), Czech Republic (Prague), Slovakia (Bratislava), and Hungary (Budapest).

The events organized by the STB aimed at reinforcing the presence and image of the destination as well as providing a refined business platform for partners to meet with the leading tour operators and agents in these four countries.  

Ms. Karen Confait, Director Scandinavia, Russia /CIS & Eastern Europe and Ingrid Laurencine, Marketing Executive from Headquarters represented STB, during this intensive Seychelles promotion.

A group of eight partners representing the Destination Management Companies and hotel establishments accompanied them.

DMC partners on the Eastern Europe roadshow included Creole Travel Services represented by Eric Renard, 7° South represented by Marta Kalarus (Warsaw, Prague and Bratislava) and Krisztina Miklos (Budapest) and Mason’s Travel represented by Gerhard Bartsch.

On the hotel establishment sides, Marie Kremer represented Four Seasons Resorts Seychelles, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, was represented by Maria Eremina, Agata Sobczak was present on behalf of Kempinski Resort Baie Lazare, Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort & Casino & Berjaya Praslin Resort, represented by Wendy Tan and finally representing Savoy Resort & Spa and Coral Strand Hotel, was Svetlana Davydkina.

In Warsaw, the evening took place at the newly opened and stylish luxury Raffles Europejski Warsaw that opened its doors with brand new conference facilities.

While in Prague, the well-known luxury Alchymist Grand Hotel & Spa was chosen to host the event, in Bratislava the dinner was hosted on a Danube River in the picturesque River’s Club venue with the beautiful view over the Bratislava Castle. The final stop of the Roadshow was celebrated in the Corinthia Hotel Budapest in a historic Grand Ball room.

In the four cities, the STB team opted for the train and dine format, which included a welcome mingle, followed by B2B meetings-during which all partners had a chance to present their products and discuss business opportunities with the tour operators and agents.  Events in all four cities were attended by over 200 agents, most of which specialises in leisure and some on in MICE travel. The dinners ended with a raffle, where guests had a chance to win prizes from the partners. The prizes included stays in the various hotels in Seychelles, transfer and excursion as well as memorable gifts from the Seychelles Islands.

The workshop format, which was added last year in addition to the presentations, has proved to be ideal as it provides partners more time for in-depth one to one discussion.

Speaking about the Seychelles dedicated roadshow, STB Director Scandinavia, Russia /CIS & Eastern Europe, Ms. Karen Confait, stated her satisfaction to see new partners attending every year.

She added that the event is also the perfect platform to catch up with current partners and to refresh their minds about the destination but also motivate them to sell. Through the various presentations, STB and the Seychelles partners are able to showcase the immense diversity and variety the islands have go offer, in terms of its people, culture, islands and properties and services available.

“Eastern Europe is a growing market for Seychelles and our dedicated roadshow over the past 5 years has been key in growing Seychelles share of the business. The two largest market in the region, Czech & Poland has shown a significant increase of 45% & 19% respectively for Jan to April 2019 compared to the same period last year. So far, the figures are very encouraging, and I believe that together with the local partners, STB can further develop this region, which has immense potential for Seychelles. Furthermore, the roadshow’ success could not have been possible without the support of the hotels and DMCS,” said the Director of Scandinavian, CIS & Eastern European Markets.

On their part, the travel trade in the four countries confirmed that the destination is growing, with the economy doing well people are looking for destinations like Seychelles for their holidays.

The Seychelles dedicated roadshow, a well-established event since its start over five years ago is now a highlight on the Central and Eastern European market.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, [email protected]  www.seychelles.travel