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Seychelles Under the Spotlight at Black Travel Summit

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Destination Seychelles will be placed under the limelight at the Black Travel Summit conference titled, “Movement” set to take place over two days starting from October 17, 2020.

The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) has joined forces with the American travel experts “Travel Moor Often,” a leading tourism service provider and directory for people of color, to promote the destination at the event, which will focus on showcasing black travel industry professionals. 

The two-day virtual event will combine 26 speakers from around the globe, including content creators and Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Regional Director for Africa and the Americas, Mr. David Germain representing the destination.

Uniting a plethora of travel experts comprising of entrepreneurs, influencers, bloggers, travel companies and many others, allowing participants to meet influencers, learn from industry professionals, or network with other travelers.

The event will also include several seminars and workshops centered on black representation in the travel industry and effectively supporting black-owned businesses in the travel industry. 

Hosted by some of the most renowned entrepreneurs in the black travel community, the event presents an opportunity for the island destination to put forward its best features to attract travelers from this specific segment.

By being part of the Black Travel Summit “Movement” Webinar, the STB team will also have direct interaction with travel experts from the USA resulting in first-hand information that will essential to the advancements of its local tourism industry. 

Topics of discussion will include “Travel Writing,” “Intersectional identities in the travel space,” “Investing in Africa,” and dialogues about representation and building communities up, just to name a few.

Furthermore, the event supports a cause, collaborating with Dream Defenders to support the fight for racial and social justice.  

Mrs. Sherin Francis, the Seychelles Tourism Board Chief Executive, mentioned that the event is a great opportunity for the destination.

“We are honored to be a part of an event celebrating the African Diaspora, giving us a chance to pay tribute to this part of our heritage, which created the melting pot which we now boast to visitors who come to our shores. The event will also allow us to tap into a segment that needs more attention and to identify the essentials of its requirements and see where we can improve in helping our local tourism industry flourish,” said the STB Chief Executive.

As part of the destination’s participation, the STB’s presentation will also feature a “Kanmtole” dance, showcasing Seychelles’ Creole culture in this October month, which is the creole month and the video of the song “Nou bann Zil,” written and composed by Mr. David Andre for the occasion of the 250 years’ celebrations in August 2020.

According to the tourism and travel research firm Mandala Research 2018 report, black travelers are a valuable and untapped audience for the tourism industry, the black American community spent $63 billion on travel, and the number is expected to grow to $90 billion in coming years.

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

Seychelles Welcomes Second Direct Commercial Connection to Europe

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Adding a supplementary choice for European travelers to the beautiful Seychelles islands, British National airline, British Airways, places its name on the list of airlines serving the destination.

Several months after its last flight to the Seychelles International airport of Pointe Larue, British Airways landed on Sunday, October 11, 2020, on the shores of the tropical destination.

British Airways becomes consequently the second European airline providing a direct commercial connection to the destination to keep Seychelles closer its prime source markets composed of six European countries. 

In an interview following the weekly high-level forum leading the implementation of the National Integrated Framework for the Reopening of Seychelles, the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive, Mrs. Sherin Francis mentioned that the arrival of British Airways places Seychelles in a favorable outcome for the having two direct European flights is a great achievement for the small destination.  

“Visibility to our customers and connectivity has been key elements of our marketing strategy. The STB and its teams around the world have been working in close collaboration with its airline partners throughout this period to make sure that the efforts invested benefits all parties. At this crucial crossroad, it is important for us to keep the momentum,” said Mrs. Francis.  

The STB Chief Executive further mentioned that her and her team has been holding regular virtual meetings with airline partners to keep them updated. The STB is also engaging in several joint marketing activities with airlines to keep the destination visible and reach out to their customers. 

Mrs. Francis emphasized that as the destination is striving to remain safe and accessible for visitors an important indication that Seychelles remains of interest to potential visitors lies in the fact that mostly all airline partners serving Seychelles have so far committed to the restart of their services on the destination, which is a good implication that the demand exists.  

“The load of passengers from the European airlines and even the other airlines remain quite interesting considering the challenges that exist for travelers today. Although some airlines are yet to confirm their dates of return, the commitment is still present,” said the STB Chief Executive.   

As the raft of marketing activities are picking up slowly on all the markets, The STB Chief Executive further mentioned the STB remains committed in keeping the destination visible across all markets. 

Since its reopening to commercial flights in August 2020, Seychelles has been welcoming regular flights from three airlines including Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways and Ethiopian Airlines. Edelweiss restarted its flights to the destination in September.

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

Seychelles More Reachable with Direct European Flights

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The Seychelles Islands is now more accessible to European visitors since Sunday, September 27, 2020, with the return of direct flights from Europe to Seychelles.

The Swiss airline, Edelweiss Air, the first European direct commercial flight to land at the Seychelles International airport of Pointe Larue since the destination has reopened for tourism in August 2020. 

Edelweiss Air, only European airline serving the destination currently departing from Zurich and scheduled for a weekly Sunday flight, has so far disembarked some 367 visitors in the last 2 weeks. 

In the spirit of keeping the destination closer to its European market, Seychelles has made since October 1, 2020, special provision to remain accessible for visitors from seven markets, amongst which six are its European markets. 

Which means that should the COVID 19 pandemic deteriorate in those markets, instead of not being permitted to travel to Seychelles, these countries will move to a category 2 of being permitted and additional measures will be applied.

The additional measure includes a 48-hour or less negative PCR COVID-19 test and staying at a hotel permitted for category two countries for the first five days of the stay, whereby movement will be restricted to the hotel property during that period.

For countries part of the seven markets, which still appear on the category 1 permitted list, the standard travel procedures in the new normal will apply.

The Seychelles Tourism Board Chief Executive, Mrs. Sherin Francis emphasized how the destination is striving to remain safe and accessible for visitors.

“This quarter has started fairly well for the destination. Although with a bit of restriction, Seychelles will be able to receive visitors from its prime market as of October 1, 2020, and the weekly flight from Zurich is one great advantage for European visitors planning to visit our islands as well. Not mentioning that two of our prime market countries namely Germany and UK, has exempted Seychelles from their non-essential travel lists,” said Mrs. Francis. 

The STB Chief Executive further mentioned the STB digital campaign ‘Experience Seychelles; our home, your sanctuary’, which aims to encourage people to travel to the destination combined with the publicity efforts made by the various offices across the world to remain visible to our audience.

Since its reopening to commercial flights in August 2020, Seychelles has been welcoming regular flights from three airlines including Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways and Ethiopian Airlines. 

The local authorities and the local tourism business owners are operating with extreme caution to ensure that the destination remains a safe place for visitors.

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

Seychelles Tourism Launches Second Phase of Digital Campaign

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The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) launched the second phase of its digital campaign “Experience Seychelles” today, September 22, 2020, during a press conference at STB Headquarters at Botanical House.

This new phase of the online campaign, dubbed “Experience Seychelles; our home, your sanctuary,” was presented to the local press by the STB Chief Executive Mrs. Sherin Francis and Digital Marketing Director Chris Matombe in the presence of STB Deputy Chief Executive Ms. Jenifer Sinon and Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association Chairperson Mrs. Sybille Cardon.

“Experience Seychelles; our home, your sanctuary,” which follows the STB digital campaign “Dream now, Experience Seychelles Later” launched in April 2020 and will run across all Seychelles destination platforms managed by STB’s Digital Marketing Team and puts forward the Tourism Board’s effort to increase the destination’s collective digital presence.

Amidst times of uncertainty, the “Experience Seychelles; our home, your sanctuary” campaign gives travelers worldwide hope and prospect to escape harsh realities they are currently facing by calling them to submerge themselves in the natural allure of this pristine paradise.

During the press conference, Mrs. Francis stated that the timing for the release of the campaign, which invites potential visitors that our beautiful destination, has been chosen purposely as it is focusing on a long-term visibility strategy to reboot travel in our small destination. 

“’Experience Seychelles; our home, your sanctuary’ is paving the way for the destination to present our various markets and segments with other marketing initiatives to come. We are aware that in these uncertain times and in a competitive environment, the conversion of this campaign to actual sales of holidays will not be immediate; this is why we feel it is important for us to remain visible to our potential clients,” said the STB Chief Executive.

Additionally, the campaign is actively engaging the tourism trade to join STB in the campaign in promoting the destination to potential visitors through content creation and using the # ExperienceSeychelles to share exclusive stories and experiences of visitors who have used their services.

Once again putting the destination in the international limelight by allowing local partners to create as much content as possible, the STB will be continuously adding new video and images to its media library that may be used by all partners as part of this campaign and any new marketing activities.

Concluding, the STB Chief Executive commented on the importance of this campaign for the visibility of the destination. She mentioned that the increased digital marketing efforts are essential to keeping in touch with audiences across the globe, reminding them that Seychelles’ shores are open to them and provide them with an escape from the burden and fears resulting from these trying times.

“After much preparation with the help of our government and local industry partners, we have seen that the destination is ready to welcome visitors to our islands. Whilst the campaign’s main aim is to remind visitors that there is a secluded paradise awaiting their arrival, it also highlights the safety measures and procedures taken by tourism establishments to ensure travelers can experience Seychelles without worries,” said Mrs. Francis.

After intensive preparations, the Seychelles islands have been welcoming tourists back on its shores since June 1, 2020, through chartered and private flights and officially reopened to scheduled flights as of August 1, 2020, which resulted in the restart of tourism.

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

Seychelles Captivates Readers of Asia Family Traveller Magazine

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Captivating readers of the Asia Family Traveller magazine by its pristine beauty, Seychelles is featured in its September/October 2020 issue placing the archipelago in the limelight on the Asian market.

Magazine Editor, Carolynne Dear’s article entices readers to discover the destination’s alluring features, from the rich flora and fauna to the pearly-white beaches and its crystal-clear waters, through mesmerizing images and inspirational ideas for memorable family adventures. 

Addressing the destination’s reopening for tourism in much detail, the current edition of the Asia Family Traveller magazine provides an insight on the important safety measures taken by the local industry partners for the safety of both residents and visitors. 

Speaking about the importance of the destination’s visibility in a time where travel is restarting for the small island nation, the Seychelles Tourism Board Chief Executive Mrs. Sherin Francis mentions that the aim of the board is to remain accessible and close to its audience. 

“It’s important that we keep ourselves visible even when people cannot travel, the dream forms a crucial part of the travel process”

Available through the digital magazine platform, Press Reader, and bookstores across Hong Kong and Singapore, Asia Family Traveller Magazine is one of the most popular travel magazines on the Asian market specializing in family travel.

The island destination has always been seen as the perfect family location, giving people the opportunity to reconnect with one another and share unique experiences, creating memories that last a lifetime. Lately, this need to reconnect has become paramount as people have come to recognize the value of cherishing every moment with loved ones. 

Enriching the destination’s visibility and receiving exposure of up to 28 million people worldwide, Seychelles also featured on the TRAVELZOO Top 20 in August 2020 where the Hilton Double Tree Allamanda was named one of the most beautiful places for an exotic, luxury holiday. 

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

Seychelles Tourism Resumes with a Good Start

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The resumption of tourism is off to a good start for the tropical paradise of the Seychelles Islands once again as the destination opened their International airport for chartered and private flights in June 2020 and reopened to scheduled flights on August 1, 2020.

Hidden in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the tropical islands have made a name for itself amongst travelers even before the global pandemic.

Speaking to the national broadcaster Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation about the tourism performance since January, the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive, Mrs. Sherin Francis stated that by the end of March the country had recorded around 88,000 visitors, which confirmed the predictions of the 3-4% increase made at the beginning of 2020.

On the way to a slow yet steady recovery from the impact of the worldwide situation, the destination has seen 2,359 visitors from June to August 23, according to the Seychelles National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Although the destination has always welcomed a wide variety of tourists, one of its popular segments remain luxury travelers, which were predicted to rebound faster during this period.

In July alone, the islands welcomed 475 visitors through chartered private flights with 87% from UAE, followed by Russia with 4% and 3% from the UK.

With the return of scheduled flights from August 1-23,2020, the country recorded 1,754 visitors arriving to its shores. According to the NBS figures there were a total number of 1,040 passengers from scheduled flights, and the number of passengers from private flights were 714. There were in total 41 private planes landing in Seychelles for that same period.

Although the figures may seem smaller compared to the same period for 2019, with a recorded drop of 63% in comparison to the same period, the small but constant amount of visitors arriving is a great step in building the confidence of global travelers and also shows that safe travel is possible. It also illustrates that Seychelles remains in the minds and hearts of many tourists. To date, 91,402 visitors have traveled to the islands for the year 2020.

The STB Chief Executive further explained that throughout the various surveys conducted by the Market Intelligence team of the STB, the trends and growing travel segment being witnessed was expected.

“Given the current global situation, the numbers are very encouraging. This shows that our communications are reaching its intended target. We hope that as restrictions are relaxed and should the global situation not worsen, that the arrivals figures will improve,” said Mrs. Francis.

Mrs. Francis further mentions that the tourism board has been continuously advocating safe tourism, a strategy which Seychelles adopted for the restart of tourism.

Seychelles is renowned for its very niche type of market, remaining a favorite amongst both luxury and nature travelers with its secluded location and ample activities centered on the destination’s pristine features. Mass tourism is not something that is being promoted.

In fact, the allure of the destination has been magnified with the increased desire of travelers to escape and reconnect with their loved ones and with nature. The islands’ lush rainforests, turquoise waters, vibrant fauna and remarkable landscape manages to capture all who disembarks on its shores.

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

Seychelles Tourism Board and Visa sign Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate the growth of Seychelles Tourism

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The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) and Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote Seychelles as a destination of choice for tourists around the world.

The MOU is aimed at enabling the tourism board to strengthen its marketing strategy globally through the promotion of electronic payments technology and services in Seychelles.

The signing of the agreement, a significant step in the longstanding relationship between STB and Visa is a testimony to the Board’s continuous endeavour to explore the most effective ways to market the destination.

The MOU will support STB’s strategy of adopting a much more targeted approach when communicating with potential visitors and provide valuable feedback to local stakeholders including the Central Bank of Seychelles, which reports on tourism earnings in Seychelles.

As part of its engagement towards the MOU with Visa, the Seychelles Tourism Board has made a commitment to continue to encourage local establishments to adopt electronic payments in line with the National Fintech Strategy of Seychelles.

Mrs. Sherin Francis, STB Chief Executive, recognised the great opportunity that this agreement will provide to the tourism industry in Seychelles in terms of accurate client’s information regarding trends and preferences.

“It is vital that our local establishments, regardless of size, look towards being able to accept electronic payments as this will facilitate transactions for our visitors. This is also in line with the government of Seychelles call to citizens to embrace electronic payments to avoid unnecessary contact with cash as the country deals with the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Mrs. Francis.

Visa’s mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive.

Visa’s Vice President for Government Engagement in Central Europe, Middle East and East Africa, Mr. Salvador Galindo Perez said, “While the ongoing pandemic has caused significant upheaval in the global travel and tourism industry, we must recognize that we should be prepared to support the needs of consumers when things improve. We have seen that there is an increased demand for contactless and digital payments not just from a seamless payment perspective, but also because of the safety and hygiene factors they represent. We also know that accepting digital payment is beneficial to local merchants as visitors do spend more when they don’t have to only rely on cash. As Visa has always been a strong partner of the travel and tourism industry, we are looking forward to sharing our expertise in the hope that together we can support the local tourism economy in their recovery efforts, alongside providing inbound and local tourists with secure, faster and more convenient ways to pay.”

Seychelles boasts lush tropical vegetation, powder-white beaches and clear turquoise waters, the Seychelles is a 115-island archipelago off the east coast of the African continent well known for its paradise-like features. With tourism as the main pillar of its economy, the new partnership will complement the STB’s efforts in fine-tuning its targeted marketing strategies.

With the restart of tourism in Seychelles, the local stakeholders on the island are determined to make travel safe and seamless for all while retaining the Creole charm visitors desire.

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

Seychelles Tourism Board kicks off its 2020 Marketing Strategy Consultations

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The first meeting set for the 2020 Marketing Strategy Consultations organized by the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) was conducted on Tuesday June 26, 2020 from the STB Headquarters at Botanical House, Mont-Fleuri.

Hosted by STB Chief Executive Mrs. Sherin Francis the meeting was attended by the Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Mr. Didier Dogley; Principal Secretary for Tourism, Anne Lafortune; destination marketing staff from STB headquarters at Botanical house; STB representatives around the globe; and also registered the participation of around 75 trade partners.

The session was an ideal opportunity for Mrs. Francis to provide a general overview of the current situation in Seychelles as the country will enter the second phase of its borders opening on August 1, 2020 with the arrival of commercial flights.

The session was primarily aimed at setting the foundation for the in-depth consultations as STB representatives and trade partners prepare to discuss how to jointly reposition individual source markets.

Mrs. Francis also shared an update of the various measures currently in discussions by the task force, which has been set by President Danny Faure earlier in June, a task force, chaired by Minister Dogley in regards to the relaunching of Seychelles as a destination for potential visitors in a safe manner. 

During her overview presentation, Mrs. Francis also mentioned the various efforts of the STB team in keeping the destination visible during the confinement period where travels were restricted in Seychelles.

She further mentioned the part of the recovery measures being driven by the local industry revolving around domestic tourism and concluded with an insight on market intelligence data and researches showing the growing interest for the destination as well as other various points of focus for the marketing of the destination this year.

The series of virtual consultative meetings will be ongoing for the next two weeks and will culminate with the STB Strategy Marketing Meeting on Friday July 10, 2020.

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

Seychelles Represented at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) Virtual ATM

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The Seychelles Islands did not miss a chance for representation at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) virtual taking place from June 1 to 3, 2020.

The destination, through the participation of Mrs. Sherin Francis, Chief Executive of Seychelles Tourism Board featured in a webinar hosted by Destination of the World News’ Editor-in-Chief, Mrs. Emily Baxter-Priest.

The webinar which also featured Mr. Adel Mardini, Founder & CEO of Jetex and Mr. Michael Marshall, CCO of Minor Hotels, which will be made available until June 5, 2020 on the ATM Virtual platforms.

Impacted by the worldwide Covid-19 situation, the Middle Eastern Travel Trade Show reinvented itself and invited tourism partners and organizations to join the ATM Virtual hosted digitally and featuring a series of webinars, conference sessions, roundtables, speed networking, and one-to-one meetings.

The Webinar titled ‘The Changing Face of Luxury Family Travel’ aims at providing insight into what travel and tourism would look like in a post Covid-19 world, with industry insight into the new landscape of luxury family travel.

Speaking of the ATM Virtual session Mrs. Francis stated that the participation of the destination on the webinar platform has been a great opportunity for the destination to reposition itself on the Middle- East market as an ideal holiday destination to be considered due to the proximity to the region and the advantages of being an isolated destination.

She further stated the discussion is timely in view of new travel trends that shows the high net worth individual segment of travelers will rebound faster and it is something that the Seychelles tourism board has already predicted.

As, the destination re-opened its airport on June 1, 2020, given there are still a lot of travel restrictions in place, exclusive kind of clientele is an obvious segment and hence during the first phase on the ease of travel restrictions much attention will be on this segment.

“Having a good understanding on what travelers are looking for in this new situation is very important as this will enable us to guide our partners. We know that the segment, which would pick up first and faster is definitely the luxury segment. As we follow the guidance of the Public Health Authority in regards to admission of visitors from ‘low risk’ countries, during these earlier months, our targets are definitely towards people with the means to travel by private jets or even chartered passenger flights as it limits the risks of infection. These also includes visitors who are looking at a new kind of experience such as all-inclusive resorts, reconnecting with nature in private villa or facilities or a yacht, all of which are definitely more of the kind of niches we are pushing for the moment for obvious reasons, that is until the country is a bit more flexible with travelers and travel is a bit less restrictive,” said Mrs. Francis.

ATM virtual is hosting various other digital platform meetings  and discussions focusing on tourism strategies and can be available on the following link: https://atmvirtual.eventnetworking.com/online-conference

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

New dates for Expo Dubai 2020

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The new dates announcement made by the Expo 2020 Dubai team followed the decision of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) after the two-thirds of its Member States voted in favor of postponing the next World Expo by one year.

The exhibition of some 192 countries including the Seychelles at the Expo 2020 will be delayed by one year as the world faces an unprecedented difficult situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Expo 2020 Dubai, which will retain its brand as Expo 2020, will now run from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

Seychelles announced its participation to the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region in August 2019 and was gearing up to showcase the destination’s natural environment, opportunities for investment and its achievements towards sustainability and conservation during the six-month event.

Speaking on behalf of the Expo Committee in Seychelles; Mrs. Sherin Francis, Seychelles Tourism Board Chief Executive mentioned that the postponement of this much-anticipated Expo 2020 event was inevitable.

“Although unfortunate, the announcement for the postponement of Expo 2020 like all major events planned this year was to be expected. Given our current situation, the feasibility of the event was close to impossible. Nonetheless, from our side work continues to make sure that we are ready in time for the show and this remains despite the shift in date,” said Mrs. Francis.

In a communiqué, Expo 2020 Dubai stated that the team remains committed to hosting an exceptional event that will celebrate humanity’s resilience, creativity, culture and innovation – including major technological advances in the fields of medicine and science.

The communique further explained that the delay allows all participants to safely navigate the impact of COVID-19, and allows the World Expo to focus on a collective desire for new thinking to identify solutions to some of the greatest challenges of our time.

The Seychelles pavilion which is to be situated within the sustainability petal in the thematic districts places the destination at a prime location among the world eco-friendly champions, providing an excellent platform for Seychelles to showcase its achievements and successes in that area.

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