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Seychelles Tourism Board and its partners meet premium Tour Operators in China

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The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) organized the first-ever joint high-end sales call in China from the May 6-14, 2019.

The delegation headed by STB representative on the Chinese soil, Jean-Luc Lai Lam comprised of local partners including representatives from Four Seasons Seychelles, Four Seasons Desroches Island, Maia Luxury Resort and Banyan Tree Seychelles.

The group visited high-end travel agents in China such as bespoke travel agencies, premium tour operators and OTA in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai. 

Commenting about this exclusive meeting initiative on the Chinese market, Mr. Jean-Luc Lai-Lam, Regional Director of Seychelles Tourism Board stated that the sales call provided a platform in China for Seychelles trade partners to interact with high-end travel agents and tour operators.

He further mentioned that the meeting between the Chinese operators and the representatives from Seychelles was an opportunity to introduce and strengthen the unique selling points of the destination and luxury properties in the Seychelles for the more affluent trade partners in China.

 “Our high-end sales call is a key element of our promotional program in China – providing our tourism partners from Seychelles with a platform to influence and educate the Chinese travel trade on all that the island of Seychelles has to offer and more importantly, to encourage them to bring more Chinese travelers to our islands.  This has already proved beneficial to the destination, with more high-end bookings coming in through the different agents that were present,” said Mr. Lai Lam.

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

Italian Exhibition Group returns to China to promote international tourism

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Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) is returning to China to promote international tourism business. The appointment is at the Shanghai World Travel Fair (SWTF), one of the major tourism industry expos of Eastern China, the 16th edition of which is being held from 18th to 21st April.

Over 750 exhibitors from 53 countries and regions of the world are awaited at the Shanghai Exhibition Center.

SWTF, co-organized by Europe Asia Global Link Exhibitions (EAGLE) – joint venture created by Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) and VNU Exhibitions Asia – and Shanghai International Convention & Exhibition Corp. Ltd (on behalf of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism), offers the sector’s trade members a unique business platform and, for the general public, an all-round insight on tourism products, all in the largest tourism region of the Chinese market, Eastern China (China is the world’s largest outbound tourism market, with 149.72 million outbound journeys and a 14.7% increase in 2018).

With over 15,000 trade members expected and a public of 50,000 visitors, the 2019 edition of SWTF will host a busy calendar of appointments and new features. Visitors will explore tourist destinations from all over the world, including Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Cuba, Gabon, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Tanzania, Turkmenistan and Vietnam. SWTF will highlight the entire tourism chain, starting with tourist offices, travel agencies and tour operators, OTA, hotel, airlines, theme parks and resorts, as well as travel services and insurance companies.

On a professional level, SWTF reconfirms its role as a great opportunity for matching to all effects. Over 3,000 B2B appointments with selected buyers from all over Eastern China will take part in the events and the panel scheduled on the latest trends in outbound tourism, organized in cooperation with China Travel Agent. Regarding this, an exclusive B2B area has been realized, which will be accessible to the sector’s trade members exclusively via a face detection system, in order to ensure the quality of the meetings with international suppliers.

Emerging destinations, digital marketing, developments on visa policies and MICE, are just some of the issues that will be covered in the panels by the sector’s opinion leaders, ready to share their successful case histories with the public. Plus, among the speakers, there will also be representatives of the top management of companies such as Ctrip, Tuniu, Uzai, Spring Tour and Tongshen Group, as well as the directors of the Tourism offices of New Zealand, Switzerland and Serbia with branches in Shanghai.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Alternative Airlines Now Accepts Amazon Pay As New Payment Option

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Today (November 29, 2018), Alternative Airlines, a flight search website, has implemented Amazon Pay as a new payment option, allowing customers to complete transactions in just a few clicks. This option will let passengers select their chosen flights with Alternative Airlines and pay by using the information already stored in their Amazon account.

This means customers can simply enter their Amazon account login details rather than re-entering their card and address details to pay for flights. This results in a swift and smooth payment process with a reputable company that customers will recognise and trust with their purchases.

Sam Argyle, Alternative Airlines’ Managing Director, commented on this new method of payment: “We’re delighted to offer Amazon Pay to our customers as it is one of the most secure ways to pay for flights, as the user doesn’t have to re-enter their card details. Amazon is also one of the most trusted brands in the industry.”

This new option expands on the ever-growing payment options that Alternative Airlines offers. By giving customers the option of completing transactions using Amazon Pay, it allows passengers to use a familiar, secure and quick service to pay for flights. Alternative Airlines currently has over 20 ways to pay, including PayPal, Alipay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa Checkout and now Amazon Pay, in addition to more unusual and region-specific methods such as M-Pesa, Airtel, Sofort and Tigo.

Alternative Airlines Launches Gordian Software to Make Booking Plane Seats Easier

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Gordian Software seat selection will be actioned with 32 airlines on Alternative Airlines to improve customer booking experience
Alternative Airlines, a flight search website, have announced a partnership with the company Gordian Software to implement a seat selection feature on their flight-booking website. Gordian Software is a piece of software which will be actioned onto 32 airline pages on the Alternative Airlines website to allow it’s customers to choose their seats on the plane prior to departure.
During the booking process, Gordian Software will allow passengers will be able to browse the plane layout, viewing available seats and special features such as exit row seats or seats with extra legroom. Passengers can then pre-book these seats, rather than waiting till check-in. This will give passengers peace of mind that their seats are secured before their day of flying. The feature will also open up new revenue opportunities for Alternative Airlines, one which is one of the fastest growing and most profitable in the air travel industry.
Alternative Airlines Managing Director, Sam Argyle spoke about their new partnership with Gordian Software: “We are delighted to work with Gordian Software as a partner for airline ancillary sales. Gordian Software offers a smart and easy way to sell baggage and seats online on many airlines. We have no doubt that this will improve the booking experience of our customers on Alternative Airlines.”.
Currently, the partnership offers the seat selection feature for easyJet, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines, but will be increasing to a total of 32 airlines. The partnership will also expand in the future to include additional ancillaries such as baggage, meal selection and other ancillaries.
Alternative Airlines is a flight search website that offers a fast, easy and convenient way to book flights to remote destinations as well as well-known locations. Alternative Airlines specialises in providing travellers with a wider choice of flights by working with more than 600 airlines including the smaller, regional ones across the world especially in South America, Africa and South-East Asia. Alternative Airlines’ global audience can enjoy over 20 international payment methods across 70 currencies making it fast, easy and convenient to book flights.