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26th annual World Travel Awards opens for submissions

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World Travel Awards

World Travel Awards (WTA) is pleased to announce its annual “call for entries” for inclusion in the most prestigious awards and recognition initiative in travel and tourism.

Each country’s very best brands and products are now invited to submit their applications to participate and stand a chance to win the ultimate industry accolade.


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WTA’s annual quest is to identify and reward travel and hospitality excellence – those organisations that are driving the industry to new heights by creating greater and more innovative customer experiences.

Nominees this year range from a broad spectrum of categories covering Aviation, Tourist Attractions, Car Hire, Cruise, Destinations, Hotels & Resorts, Meetings & Events, Travel Agencies, Tour Operators and Travel Technology – to name but a few.

Graham Cooke, Founder, WTA, said: “We have been overwhelmed with the tremendous early response to industry entries, which have grown at a phenomenal rate in recent years.

“The worldwide interest shown in our Grand Tour 2019 is already significantly higher than this stage last year and serves to illustrate the importance of winning at the WTA when seeking to differentiate a brand in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

“We are seeing more companies than ever spearheading their global marketing campaigns with their award victories and we are humbled by reports of how triumph at the WTA has helped to bolster growth and revenues,” he added.

Celebrating its 26th anniversary in 2019, WTA is acknowledged across the globe as the ultimate travel accolade.

In the quest to identify and reward excellence, the organisation invites those brands that are pushing the boundaries of industry excellence to participate in the annual programme. Entry forms can be submitted here.

Seychelles to host FINA World Junior Open Water Championship in 2020

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Seychelles will next year host the FINA World Junior Open Water Championship 2020, making it the first African country and small island nation to organize this event. Additionally, following the resounding triumph of the first-ever FINA/Hosa Marathon Swim World Series held on our beautiful shores in 2018, Seychelles will once again host the second leg of the prestigious swimming competition in May this year.

These official announcements were made during a press conference held on January 17, 2019, at the Savoy Resort and Spa in the presence of Mr. Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, the Minister for Finance, Trade, Investment, and Economic Planning, Principal Secretary for Youth and Sports Mr. Fabian Palmyre.

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The press conference hosted by the chairperson of the Seychelles Swimming Association (SSA), Mr. David Vidot, also saw the participation of the two core governmental partners in the presence of Mrs. Sherin Francis the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive and Mr. Jean Larue, Chief Executive of the National Sports Council (NSC).

The FINA World Junior Open Water Championship is an international swimming competition that brings together boys and girls between the age of 14 and 19, to race at the highest level.

“This is another historical moment for Seychelles as we are pioneering open water not only in Seychelles but also in the African continent,” said Mr. Vidot.

During her intervention STB Chief Executive Mrs. Francis commented that as a faithful partner of the open water competitions, STB will give its support to the event, adding that such sports competitions provide a great boost to the tourism industry.

“Such big events are broadcasted by major television channels and this is a way for people to indirectly discover the destination for the first time. We have noticed in the past that having international press cover such events has allowed us to receive more leverage and visibility as a small country with little resources,” said Mrs. Francis.
She added that all stakeholders in the tourism industry stand to benefit from such an event.

Commenting on the financial commitment of the event, the Minister for Finance, Trade, Investment, and Economic Planning stated that the government of Seychelles is giving its full support for the hosting of the event. He also took the opportunity to invite local businesses to join the initiative as sponsors and partners.

“It is important that Seychelles hosts such events to make sure that it remains relevant on the international scene as a country that is serious and engaged in sport. Sport brings about peace and most of all it develops the youth and places them on the right track in life,” said Mr. Loustau-Lalanne.

Mr. Loustau-Lalanne also added that the exact costing for the event has not been established yet, but that for the moment an estimation of about five to six million Seychelles rupees has been made for the event.

Mr. Vidot mentioned that ongoing discussions are still being held with FINA to establish the exact date that the junior championship will take place. He explained that the junior championship might be hosted during the week that follows the final race of the FINA/Hosa Marathon Swim World Series’ second leg. There will be three age groups and three distances – 3km, 5km, and 7.5km – under which participants will be able to compete.

The FINA/Hosa Marathon Swim World Series, which is anticipated for May 11 and May 12 this year, will be the second event of a four-year agreement with FINA for the international swimming event.

“At the moment, we are hoping to host it back to back with the world cup series as both events will be hosted at Beau Vallon. This will allow us to make the most out of our resources,” said Mr. Vidot.

In 2018, the first Seychelles edition of the FINA/Hosa Marathon Swim World Series was won by an Italians duo Arianna Bridi and Simone Ruffini who came out as the winners of the women’s and men’s race, respectively; leaving around 50 other world class swimmers from around the world envious of winning in the pristine waters.

Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label renewed for two Hilton properties

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The Seychelles Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Mr Didier Dogley handed over SSTL certificates to representatives of two Hilton hotels in a short ceremony held at the ministry’s headquarters, at Botanical House, Mont Fleuri on Wednesday 16th January 2019.

Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and Spa and Double Tree by Hilton Allamanda Resort were first certified in 2016.  On the expiry of their certification which was valid for 2 years these two hotels have gone through a re assessment where they have both scored over 10% more points than they scored 2 years ago.

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During the two years, both hotels have intensified their efforts to reduce their carbon footprints. This includes installing solar lights across the whole property, motion sensor lighting, reconditioning of the Sewage Treatment Plant for more efficiency among others.  Both properties have also contributed to environment conservation through the establishment of coral nurseries in partnership with the Marine Conservation Society of Seychelles to help in coral reef restoration.

Minister Dogley congratulated the participants for their achievements and expressed his satisfaction at the increasing interest from various hotels towards this sustainable tourism initiative and reiterated that sustainability is the way forward for our tourism industry.

The Hilton representatives expressed their satisfaction at having maintained their commitment to sustainability and said ‘We naturally chose to form part of this label as it perfectly aligns with our vision and mission to integrate sustainability as part of our daily operations. We are also honouring the Hilton Corporate Social Responsibility campaign: Travel with Purpose, by committing to making our community a better place.  We are the pioneers of conscious travelling, and through our numerous initiatives such as the Coral Reef Restoration Program and the newly appointed Sustainability and Guest Experience coordinator position, we will also be the future of hospitality sustainability in Seychelles’

The Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label (SSTL) is awarded to hotels that are found to be integrating sustainability practices in their business operations. Presently applicable to tourism accommodations only, the mission of the SSTL is to encourage tourism accommodations of all sizes in Seychelles to mainstream sustainability practices into their business operations to safeguard the biodiversity and culture of Seychelles which is the core of our tourism product.

The label is presently being amended and expanded to make it applicable to other tourism businesses such as restaurants, the boating sector and tour operators.

UNWTO announces activities at FITUR 2019

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UNWTO announces activities at FITUR 2019

Inauguration of a tourism innovation hub, the final stage of the 1st UNWTO Tourism Startup Competition, the 10th Edition of The Tourism Investment and Business Forum for Africa, understanding the success of Asian Tourism – these will be among the activities led by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) during the 39th edition of the International Tourism Trade Fair in Madrid (FITUR, 23-27 January), the first of the world’s major annual tourism events.

A new activity this year is the inauguration of a global tourism innovation hub, highlighting the UNWTO’s role in and commitment to innovation. Furthermore, the awards ceremony of the 1st UNWTO Tourism Startup Competition will be held in partnership with Globalia, the leading tourism group in Spain and Latin America. This competition, the first and largest initiative of its kind in the world, is aimed at identifying the new companies that will lead the transformation of the tourism sector and the promotion of innovation ecosystems through tourism.

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Celebrating its tenth edition, the Tourism Investment and Business Forum for Africa (INVESTOUR) has consolidated itself as the annual event that brings together numerous tourism ministers of the region and investors to discuss the opportunities that the sector can offer the continent. Organized jointly by the UNWTO, FITUR and Casa África, this year’s sessions will be structured around two main themes: “Safe and Seamless Travel in Africa: Fostering Resilience and Risk Management in the Tourism Sector” and “Embracing Digital Transformation, Innovation and Promoting Niche Tourism Products”.

Chinese Celebrity Xu Haiqiao brought diversity of Seychelles to Chinese audiences via social media

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The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) office in China collaborated with famous reality show actor, Mr. Xu Haiqiao, to increase the visibility of the exotic island paradise among the young Chinese audience.

“Follow Xu Haiqiao to explore the Last Eden on Earth – Seychelles” as the project was called, was shot in Seychelles between August 21, 2018 and August 26, 2018.

The actor graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, a public university aimed towards teaching dramatic art in Shanghai, China. Mr. Xu made his name known in his homeland through roles played in television series such as ‘The Dream of Read Mansions’, ‘The Journey of Flower’ and ‘Lost Love in Times’.

The promotional videos started airing on September 10, 2018 on the Chinese celebrity’s social media account on Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website. Mr. Xu has about 10.7 million fans on Sina Weibo. Followers had the chance to watch ‘Follow Xu Haiqiao to explore the Last Eden on Earth – Seychelles’ on other social media platforms such as WeChat and TikTok.

Through the vlog ‘The Orange Star Travels’, Mr. Xu shared with his audience his six-day shooting itinerary in the 115-island archipelago. For each of the six days spent in Seychelles, a themed video blog was created, each displaying a different aspect of life in the island nation. He showed the Chinese audience the beautiful nature of Seychelles, its diverse culture, adventures that can be had as well as interacted with the local people.

The audience experienced the country through six chapters: Preview – ‘Xu Haiqiao and Seychelles’, Chapter 1 – ‘Live Somewhere Else’, Chapter 2 – ‘A Nature Tour of 455square meters, Chapter 3 – ‘A tour of Adventure’, Chapter 4 – ‘Unexpected Lucky Gift’ and Chapter 5 – ‘The End of the Journey’.

Over 60million PV (page per view) were recorded after ‘Follow Xu Haiqiao to explore the Last Eden on Earth – Seychelles’ finished airing.

Commenting on Mr. Xu’s presence in the Seychelles, STB Director for the Chinese and Japanese Market, Jean –Luc Lai- Lam said that the initiative is in line with the strategy as presented by his office for the year 2018.

“This year, one of our main focus has been creating more visibility on the Weibo Chinese social media, in order to reach a greater number of audience, and this has been very successful in creating more visibility for the destination,” said Mr. Lai Lam

The project follows the one carried out this year by the award-winning Chinese actress, Ms. Dilraba Dilmurat, who showcase Seychelles through ‘Dilraba feels Seychelles’. Close to 1.53 Billion people watched the series of videos advocating the laid-back lifestyle and natural environment of Seychelles.