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Eventful 3 days for Seychelles delegation led by the Tourism Minister at IFTM Top Resa 2019

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The 41st edition of the IFTM Top Resa, held at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, kicked off on October 1 and came to an end on Friday, October 5.

As the industry’s leading business-to-business trade show, IFTM Top Resa is the only French event that brings together the whole tourism sector, featuring multiple segments over four days including, Leisure, Tourism, Business Travel, Group Tourism and Events.


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The Trade show gathered over 34,000 professionals, French and international buyers, tourism distribution and production professionals, journalists and media representatives, influencers, students and officials who all came to connect with the 1,700 exhibitors. Exhibitors included tourism boards, airlines, hotel groups, technology companies and startups.

The Seychelles delegation was led by Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Mr. Didier Dogley, who was present at the Seychelles stand for the opening of the annual tourism trade fair.

French travel agents and press expressed immense interest in the Seychelles as a holiday destination, keeping the destination’s stand occupied during the first three days of the IFTM Top Resa tourism fair.

The Seychelles stand consisted of the Seychelles Tourism Board team, accompanied by seven trade partners.

Trade partners and representatives included: 7° South – Corinne Delpech; Masons Travel – Alan Masons and Paul Lebon; Creole Travel Services – Guillaume Albert and Stephanie Marie; Avani Barbarons Seychelles Resorts – Bertrand Moussa; Banyan Tree Seychelles – Marie Gougeon; Coral Strand Hotel and Savoy Resort & Spa – Ekaterina Gritsenko; and Hilton Seychelles – Devi Pentamah.

The Seychelles Tourism Board was represented by its Chief Executive, Mrs. Sherin Francis; STB’s Regional Director for Europe, Mrs. Bernadette Willemin; Marketing Executives from the STB France office, Jennifer Dupuy, Myra Fanchette and Valerie Payet; as well as Marketing Executive from the STB Head Office, Christina Cecile.

Mrs. Francis said: “This year’s IFTM TOP RESA was once again an opportunity to further strengthen our relationship with our French partners. We are happy that we have their renewed commitment to keep on growing this market further. Therefore, we are looking forward to another fruitful year of collaboration.”

Minister Dogley and Mrs. Francis used this opportunity to conduct various meetings with travel trade professionals and give interviews to some high-profile media.

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A press conference, with the presence of approximately a dozen journalists, was organized on the second day of the trade show. The delegation updated the media on the Seychelles tourism development, also on the 250 years Seychelles celebration plan. A detailed exposé about the country’s conservation environmental protection initiatives, including the Blue Economy and Blue Bond, was also presented.

The IFTM Top Resa is the turning point of the tourism season, coinciding with the launch of the tour operators’ winter brochures and various promotional campaigns, by different industry players.

STB’s Regional Director for Europe, Mrs. Bernadette Willemin says IFTM Top Resa has once again fulfilled its role as one of the world’s major tourism trade fairs, both in terms of the number of visitors and exhibitors alike.

“Its main role as a forum for travel trade professionals has proven, once again, very fruitful, enabling participants to renew contacts and meet with new interlocutors, discover or re-discover new tourism products and services,” said Mrs. Willemin.

“At the same time, it must be underscored that stiff competition still characterizes IFTM Top Resa and it is the presence therein that a given destination displays its assets to keep its market share, if not increasing it,” she added.

The French market is a significant one for the Seychelles, being the second leading market after Germany. The Seychelles Islands is still a favorite and safe destination for French visitors, as seen by the attention the Seychelles stand received during the Trade Fair.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, stbnews@seychelles.travel  www.seychelles.travel

The celebrations to mark the 250 years of Seychelles are officially launched

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It is in a ceremony at the International Conference Centre of Seychelles (ICCS) in Victoria, on Tuesday, September 17, 2019, that the President of the Republic, Mr. Danny Faure, officially launched the activities commemorating the 250th anniversary of Seychelles.

The launch organised by the national preparatory committee for the 250 years of Seychelles saw the presence of several high Government officials including the Designated Minister, Mrs. Macsuzy Mondon; the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Nicholas Prea; the Leader of the Opposition party Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan and the leader of Government Business Mr. Charles de Commarmond.

In her speech during the ceremony, Mrs. Sherin Francis, chairperson of the committee, mentioned the colourful history of the Seychelles throughout its 250 years of existence and urged all Seychellois to be part of the celebrations.

She further expressed her profound gratitude to all the organisations, including government offices, schools, private sector, artists, private individuals who have responded positively to the various media calls by presenting their projects and ideas to make the celebrations a success.   

“We are all honoured as Committee Member to be part of this celebration, but mostly it has been very humbling to see how much our Seychelles is a proud nation through the various contribution of their ideas and time. The celebrations remain a way for us to celebrate our beloved country and share with our next generations the real sense of the word patriotism,” said Mrs. Francis. 

The ceremony conducted in the three national languages of Seychelles opened its curtains on singing presentation from Angel’s Choir singing the blessing song “Ouver ou Leker” written by Raymond Clarisse and ended on a light note through a dance performance-dubbed “Nou Lorizin”-retracing the early days of Seychelles by the youth from the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC).

About the Committee

  • A national preparatory committee chaired by Seychelles Tourism Board Chief Executive, Sherin Francis was appointed by President Danny Faure in August 2018.
  • The committee, which consists of seven other members namely Jeannine Chung Faye, Emanuel D’Offay, Sybille Cardon, Oliver Bastienne, Tony Mathiot, David Andre, Cindy Vidot and Alvin Laurence.
  • On May 30, 2019, the cabinet endorsed of the proposed plan to celebrate 250th anniversary of the first settlement in 2020.
  • In June 2019, the 250 years national preparatory committee organised a press meeting to address the Seychelles press partners for the first time and unveil the logo of this historic event.
  • On September 5, 2019, the committee met with the local press for a brief on the upcoming activities.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, stbnews@seychelles.travel  www.seychelles.travel

Seychelles to shine at the Dubai Expo 2020

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Set to take place from October 2020 until April 2021, the Dubai Expo 2020 will go down in history as the first expo in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region.

For six months, Seychelles, our small Island nation will be represented through the participation of various national entities and NGOs to showcase the destination’s natural lush environment, opportunities for investment and its achievements towards Sustainability and Nature conservation.

Seychelles will therefore share a spot alongside the 192 participating countries from all over the globe. The Dubai 2020 Expo site, which will cover a total of 438 hectares, is located in the Dubai South district, near the Al Maktoum International Airport.

The country’s preparations to the international event is spearheaded by the collective effort of CINEA and the Seychelles Tourism Board.

Representatives of the two organizations are working alongside the Dubai Expo 2020 team and the Seychelles Country Manager, John Addo Obiri, to ensure that Seychelles’ participation carry every single visitor onto an imaginary journey that will touch their hearts.

Through the discoveries of the Seychelles pavilion, each visitor will get a feel of the Islands, as one will discover its various features through visual, audio and graphics presentations.

Seychelles will also be granted the tribute of celebrating its national day through an honor day, event during which, various high officials from the country will be invited to attend.

Aside from the official events, Seychelles will also be engaging the Expo Dubai 2020 visitors through conferences and workshops centered around culture, finance, environment and tourism.

Speaking about Seychelles preparations to the Expo, Mr. Galen Bresson CEO of CINEA, stated that the Dubai 2020 moto: “connecting minds and creating the future,” incorporates the mind-set of the organizing committee working effortlessly towards the success of this event for the country.

“Seychelles might be small in size, but we are placing ourselves on the global market next to many countries through our participation. The concept for this Expo reflect a lot of our country’s conservation philosophy. Our aim is to show the world that, in spite of our 250 years of existence, we have been able to maintain a good balance in co-existing with our natural environment,” said Mr. Bresson. 

On her part, Mrs. Sherin Francis, STB Chief Executive, mentioned that the STB team is working in close collaboration with CINEA and the other government agencies and NGOs to make Seychelles’ participation a success.

“Seychelles’ participation in the Dubai 2020 Expo is an excellent platform for visibility for the country, not only as a tourism destination, but also as a nation. More than ever, we need to place ourselves on the map in showcasing our natural beauty, our culture and our various achievements in all aspects,” said STB’s Chief Executive.

The first world expo took place in 1851 in London and has since been a platform for countries to showcase their achievements and culture to the rest of the world. The Dubai 2020 Expo is expecting over 25,000,000 visits over the 173 days.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, stbnews@seychelles.travel  www.seychelles.travel

Tourism (MoM) arrivals in Seychelles grew by 9% from January to June 2019

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Figures recorded by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed a remarkable growth in the tourism arrivals in June 2019 this year.

Indeed 25,761 visitors stamped their passports at the immigration desks at the Seychelles International Airports for a vacation on our shores.

An increase considered as exceptional for this period of the year, as it is the first time that the Seychelles islands have ever recorded over 25,000 visitors during this month.  

Figures presented by the NBS, confirmed that visitor’s arrivals from the beginning of the year to end of June 2019 are equivalents to 187,108. This represents a significant increase of 9% when compared to the same period in 2018 as the number of visitors recorded for that period amounted to 172,099 visitors.

Germany remains at the top of the best five performing markets for the month of June 2019 as 4,087 German tourists disembarked on our shores; the United Arab Emirates (UAE) follows with a number of 3,119 visitors.

While the 2,110 visitors were recorded to have landed from United Kingdom (UK). In fourth and fifth position are France and Italy with a number of 1,855 and 1,794 tourists, respectively.

As projected by the Strategic Planning and Market Intelligence department of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), the targets set- at 3 to 4%- by the STB for this year will be exceeded.

Speaking at a press briefing at Botanical House earlier today, Mrs. Sherin Francis STB Chief Executive mentioned her satisfaction to note that 2019 would also be a year of great performance for the industry. 

 “It is remarkable to see that Seychelles remains a prime destination and that for the past few years the destination has performed quite well throughout the year. June is always a slow month and we had anticipated that this year it might be the same despite our active work to bring more tourist in the country. The current figures from NBS comforts us in knowing we managed to hit a record for the month of June,” said Mrs. Francis.   

Parallel to the increase in visitor’s arrivals is the growth in the yields, according to the most recent figures from the CBS (figures referred to are for Jan-May 2019), the yields recorded from tourism related activities have shown that the destination is 6% ahead of last year. The CBS estimated that the tourism earnings from January to May 2019 were approximately 3.5 Billion SCR compared to only 3.3 Billion SCR during the same period in 2018.

In terms of travel agency bookings for the coming months, an increase in the numbers of forward bookings have been estimated.

According to the forward bookings, data received from the travel agencies it is noted that for the next 6 months of the year,  for the top 5 markets a forecast 3.9% increase in regards to bookings made this time last year.

Major improvements in travel agency bookings for some key markets including France, Russia, UK, Italy and China have been noted.

Mrs. Francis maintained that the STB will keep on increasing visibility for the Seychelles and encouraged the tourism trade to keep the great marketing work in promoting their properties and services.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, stbnews@seychelles.travel  www.seychelles.travel

Seychelles golfers en route for the first Seychelles Tourism Board Golf Competition

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Some 40-golf enthusiast have registered to feature in the first ever golf event scheduled for Saturday July 13, 2019 at the Constance Lemuria Praslin.

The event organised by the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) in collaboration with various local and international partners sends promises of success as the finishing touches are being completed by the organising team. 

This event will be used as qualifying rounds for the PRO-AM during the MCB Tour Championship on December 4, 2019 at Constance Lemuria in Praslin, which will open 5 spots for golf enthusiasts.

The STB Golf Competition 2019, which will be an 18-hole individual Stableford, meaning the player’s aim would be to have the highest score, will be the chance of a lifetime for local players of all ages bearing handicap 18 for men and 20 for ladies to win a place, which will qualify them to rub shoulders with Professional golf players from around the world in the December event.

Amongst the various partners supporting the event features Japanese founded leader in premium golf products Honma Golf, locally based partners including Constance Lemuria Resort, Seychelles one and only golf resort, local brewery Seybrew and Shreeji Group- multi-serviced and diversified business group.

Speaking about the upcoming STB Golf Competition, STB Chief Executive Mrs. Sherin Francis mentioned that we are looking forward to hosting the first STB branded competition; she also stated her satisfaction to have received such positive feedbacks to the invitation sent to local golfers.

“As we market the destination and invite golfers around the world to come enjoy our perfect sceneries, we are also glad to be bringing the STB golf competition on our calendar of events for local participants to enjoy. The response from the golfing community and our partners have been overwhelming. We are looking forward to the Saturday events to welcome the 5 golfers to represent the STB family in the December competition,” said Mrs. Francis.

On her part Mrs. Gopi Dubasia, the Shreeji Group representative stated her excitement to be part of the event.

“The Shreeji Group is proud to Partner with STB in hosting the first national corporate Golf Competition. We are delighted to support our domestic players to be qualified for the second Indian Ocean Swing event in December with the presence of International Tee-Players. Cheers to the new beginnings and new horizons!” said Mrs. Dubasia.     

Seychelles will be welcoming the second edition of the MCB Tour Championship in December this year.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, stbnews@seychelles.travel  www.seychelles.travel