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The Seychelles Islands displayed at the MATKA Nordic Travel Fair 2019

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The Seychelles Tourism Board team in the Nordic Regions brought some sunshine to cold Finland as the Seychelles destination was represented at the MATKA Nordic Travel Fair 2019.

The Matka trade show, which is the largest travel fair in the Nordic Region, was held in Messukeskus Helsinki from January 17 to January 20, 2019. It’s the main travel platform in the region where everyone meets to conduct business.


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During the 4-day event, the Seychelles Island stand, which consisted of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), team members alongside other trade partners was located in the ‘Sun & Sea’ themed area together with other exotic destinations. The opportunity allowed the team to actively entice visitors to get to know the Seychelles Islands.

The delegation comprised of STB Marketing Director for Nordics, Ms. Karen Confait and Marketing Executive from STB headquarters, Ms. Melissa Samardzija, Mr. Ash Behari from Coco de Mer Hotel & Black Parrot Suites and Ms. Amy Michel representing Mason’s Travel.

The other participating partner on the STB stand included Finnish Tour Operators “Mr. Travel”, who was also present to assist with the promotion of the destination and offer their services to Nordic customers willing to visit Seychelles.

Several other operators also provided flyers with special offers, which were important as clients were looking for prices and packages.

The first two days of the trade show were mainly dedicated for trade professionals (B2B), whereas the remaining days saw a high attendance of the public in general. Ms. Confait mentioned that they noticed that many visitors who visited the STB stand for information, had already booked their trip to Seychelles, while others were shopping around to decide on their next holiday destination.

On the first day of the fair, STB in partnership with Emirates hosted the main Finnish trade partners to a networking dinner, a small token to thank them for their continued support on the market and to encourage them to keep Seychelles in mind while proposing holiday destinations to their clients.

Talking about Seychelles participation at Matka 2019, STB Marketing Director for Nordics, Ms. Karen Confait mentioned that the STB team took the opportunity to meet several regular collaborators including Qatar Airways, Emirates and Turkish Airlines as well as our main trade partners from both Finland and Sweden. She also commented on her satisfaction at the volume of people visiting the stand this year.

“It is very encouraging to see that the destination is thriving in the Nordics. Each year we have seen the growing interest and Matka is the ideal platform for us to meet our main partners at the beginning of the year to discuss the action plans for the year as well as to continue to build and strengthen our relationship with the travel trade” said Ms. Confait.

The Matka Trade Show 2019 recorded a total number of 64,589 visitors compared to 63,599 visitors in 2018, showing an increase of 1.56% in the number of visitors attending the show this year.

Seychelles Tourism departments conveys peers and other stakeholders to the first 2019 multi-sectoral meeting

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High officials representing various agencies, members of the tourism-trade and other stakeholders met again on February 1, 2019, three-months following their last assembly in October 2018.

The first multi-sectoral meeting of the year, which took place at the National House, was presided by Minister Didier Dogley, Ministers for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine.

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The meeting saw the presence of his counterparts Minister for Employment, Immigration & Civil Status, Myriam Telemaque; Minister for Environment, Energy & Climate Change, Wallace Cosgrow and Minister for Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning Maurice Loustau-Lalanne.

The agenda included presentations from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS), and the Seychelles Land Transport Authority (SLTA).

The presentations by the NBS kept the participants of the meeting abreast with the latest figures including tourism earnings and expenditures. The NBS team mentioned that the aim of the surveys conducted by its teams at the airport and the port aims at having accurate information on every market. They reported that for last year, $563,9 million was earned form the tourism industry, the country’s leading economic pillar. This represents a 16.7 percent increase from 2017’s earnings.

Seychelles ended December 2018 with 361,231 visitors that disembarked in the island nation, a figure which is four percent above that of 2017. The tourism industry is already seeing an increase in visitor arrivals for 2019 as figure have increased by 16 percent when compared to the same period last year. Since the start of 2019, over 33,700 tourists have set foot in the country.

On its part, the CBS reported on the balance of payment. They stated that Seychelles is primarily a service-based economy, where tourism accounts for more than 25 percent of the country’s GDP.

While the Department for Finance presented a brief on the operating cost in Seychelles, during his short intervention the Minister for Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning Maurice Loustau-Lalanne mentioned that the department is actively working towards reducing business costs related tax considerably.

The two authorities explained the methodology of how data was collected and requested all stakeholders to collaborate in order to be as correct as possible.

The SLTA provided an update on the Road maintenance plan including all the development work on roads and their timeframe.

The Risk Management Section from the Tourism Department circulated their latest figures regarding the crime issues affecting the tourism industry in 2018, showing a 61% decrease in crimes as compared to the same period in 2017.

In his address to the press Minister Dogley expressed his convictions that the Multisectoral meeting adds to the benefit of all stakeholders, he confirms that various issues have been addressed through the meeting and other issues are being taken care of through the continuous meetings.

“What the country wants to see is meaningful and real growth in the industry in general. It is important that the meeting continues on this positive note and that all stakeholders engage in discussions in an effort to jointly identify and implement tangible solutions.” said Minister Dogley.

The aim of the multisectoral meeting is for the public and private sector, involved in the tourism industry, to continue to work together as partners. As a result, the tourism sector can be strengthened for the country to be able to draw more out of the industry and prosper.

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WTTC Brexit Warning: 700.000 travel tourism jobs at risk in Europe

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Gloria Guevara, President and CEO, WTTC

Over 300,000 jobs could be at risk in the Travel & Tourism sector in the United Kingdom and almost 400,000 in Europe if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 29 March, according to a new analysis from the World Travel & Tourism Council released today.

A “No Deal” Brexit would have a damaging impact on one of the UK’s most important economic sectors.

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According to WTTC, which represents the private sector of Travel & Tourism globally, the industry contributes more than €1.5 trillion to the EU’s GDP (10.3% of total) and supports 27.3 million jobs (11.7% of total). In the UK, the sector contributes £213.8 billion to GDP (10.5% of total) and supports four million jobs (11.6% of total).

The WTTC analysis models the impact on the Travel & Tourism sector over the next decade, based on the 7.7% forecasted fall in economic activity across the wider UK economy modelled by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In this situation, a No Deal Brexit would result in:

  • A loss of 308,000 jobs in the UK economy
  • A loss of 399,000 jobs in the rest of the EU
  • A loss of £18.6 billion in GDP to the UK economy
  • A loss of £22.0 billion in GDP to the economies of the rest of the EU

To minimize the impact, it is crucial that:

1. The UK should continue to have access to the Single Aviation Market

2. Visa-free travel between the UK and EU should be maintained and the movement of people should be as seamless as possible while maintaining security

3. The mobility of labor for Travel & Tourism employees across the UK and EU should continue

4. Security co-operation to avoid hard border checks and lengthy delays are paramount

Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC said, “The UK is the fifth largest Travel & Tourism economy in the world. Given its importance to the UK economy, it is now clear that a No Deal Brexit would have a dramatic impact on one of the UK’s most significant sectors.”

“If the IMF prediction on the wider economy is realised, there would be a total cost across Europe of over £40 billion and over 700,000 jobs compared to our projections. Our Members are already seeing an impact on their businesses and workforce.”

Building Resilience of Caribbean SMTEs: OAS launches $500,000 project

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The Organization of American States (OAS) has launched a US$500,000 project to assist the region’s small and medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs) to build resilience to natural disasters.

The project was launched during the 2nd Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs), hosted at the Montego Bay Convention Centre by the government and the United Nations World Tourism Organization on January 29.

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Speaking ahead of the launch, Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett said, “We are so happy to have the vast expertise of the Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Nestor Mendez, at the launch who I am pleased to say comes bearing gifts. This very important resilience project for our SMTEs will help build the capacity of our sector to better help us become more resilient when disruptions occur.”

The project is funded by the United States Department of State and managed by the OAS Secretariat for Integral Development. It will assist small tourism enterprises in the Caribbean to overcome the various challenges that affect the ability of Governments and businesses alike to continue their business operations during and after catastrophic events in the Caribbean.

Participating countries set to benefit include: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

It will be carried out in a two-year period, with the primary aim being to reduce the severity, impact and duration of disruptions caused by a disaster on the operations of the small enterprises in the Caribbean.

“The Caribbean is among the most tourism-dependent regions in the world and there is no other region whose travel and tourism industry is as vulnerable to disasters as the Caribbean. It is undeniable that climate change presents an existential threat to small island developing states and low lying coastal areas, which include the countries of the Caribbean,” said Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, Nestor Mendez.

He also noted that “The OAS identified, among the main long-term needs of the region, the need for tourism-related disaster preparedness and crisis management, communications plans as well as methodologies to follow before and after a disaster.”

This 2nd Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs), is a direct response to the global conference on jobs and inclusive growth hosted in Jamaica in 2017, which brought to the fore many of the perennial challenges faced by SMTEs, including issues of access to credit, marketing, technology and business development.

The conference organisers therefore saw it prudent to have another event focused solely on SMTEs and best practices that have direct relevance to their development.

UNWTO: International tourist arrivals reach 1.4 billion two years ahead of forecasts

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UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili

International tourist arrivals grew 6% in 2018, totalling 1.4 billion according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. UNWTO’s long term forecast issued in 2010 indicated the 1.4 billion mark would be reached in 2020, yet the remarkable growth of international arrivals in recent years has brought it two years ahead.

International tourist arrivals up 6% in 2018

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UNWTO estimates that worldwide international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased 6% to 1.4 billion in 2018, clearly above the 3.7% growth registered in the global economy.

In relative terms, the Middle East (+10%), Africa (+7%), Asia and the Pacific and Europe (both at +6%) led growth in 2018. Arrivals to the Americas were below the world average (+3%).

“The growth of tourism in recent years confirms that the sector is today one of the most powerful drivers of economic growth and development. It is our responsibility to manage it in a sustainable manner and translate this expansion into real benefits for all countries, and particularly, to all local communities, creating opportunities for jobs and entrepreneurship and leaving no one behind” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. “This is why UNWTO is focussing 2019 on education, skills and job creation.”, he added.

UNWTO’s long-term forecast published in 2010 predicted the 1.4 billion mark of international tourist arrivals for 2020. Yet stronger economic growth, more affordable air travel, technological changes, new businesses models and greater visa facilitation around the word have accelerated growth in recent years.

Results by region

International tourist arrivals in Europe reached 713 million in 2018, a notable 6% increase over an exceptionally strong 2017. Growth was driven by Southern and Mediterranean Europe (+7%), Central and Eastern Europe (+6%) and Western Europe (+6%). Results in Northern Europe were flat due to the weakness of arrivals to the United Kingdom.

Asia and the Pacific (+6%) recorded 343 million international tourist arrivals in 2018. Arrivals in South-East Asia grew 7%, followed by North-East Asia (+6%) and South Asia (+5%). Oceania showed more moderate growth at +3%.

The Americas (+3%) welcomed 217 million international arrivals in 2018, with mixed results across destinations.

Growth was led by North America (+4%), and followed by South America (+3%), while Central America and the Caribbean (both -2%) reached very mixed results, the latter reflecting the impact of the September 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Data from Africa points to a 7% increase in 2018 (North Africa at +10% and Sub-Saharan +6%), reaching an estimated 67 million arrivals.

The Middle East (+10%) showed solid results last year consolidating its 2017 recovery, with international tourist arrivals reaching 64 million.

Growth expected to return to historical trends in 2019

Based on current trends, economic prospects and the UNWTO Confidence Index, UNWTO forecasts international arrivals to grow 3% to 4% next year, more in line with historic growth trends.

As a general backdrop, the stability of fuel prices tends to translate into affordable air travel while air connectivity continues to improve in many destinations, facilitating the diversification of source markets. Trends also show strong outbound travel from emerging markets, especially India and Russia but also from smaller Asian and Arab source markets.

At the same time, the global economic slowdown, the uncertainty related to the Brexit, as well as geopolitical and trade tensions may prompt a “wait and see” attitude among investors and travelers.

Overall, 2019 is expected to see the consolidation among consumers of emerging trends such as the quest for ‘travel to change and to show’, ‘the pursuit of healthy options’ such as walking, wellness and sports tourism, ‘multigenerational travel’ as a result of demographic changes and more responsible travel.

“Digitalization, new business models, more affordable travel and societal changes are expected to continue shaping our sector, so both destination and companies need to adapt if they want to remain competitive”, added Pololikashvili.