The trips were led by the Director General for Destination Marketing, Mrs. Bernadette Willemin, and Ms. Stephanie Lablache from the Destination Marketing section.
The main purpose of the trip was to re-establish connections with the travel trade from both countries and explore ways to increase destination visibility.
During their mission, Mrs. Willemin and Ms. Lablache met with tour operators and travel agents to discuss ways in which they could work together to promote Seychelles as a prime tourist destination. The team received positive feedback from all agents, who expressed their keen interest in continuing to work with Seychelles, particularly given the availability of direct flights.
Mrs. Willemin expressed her satisfaction with the outcome of the sales call trips, stating:
“We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to re-connect with agents in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.”
“Their enthusiasm for promoting Seychelles as a tourist destination remain encouraging and we are confident that our joint marketing efforts will lead to an increase in market share from those two markets.”
Seychelles lies northeast of Madagascar, an archipelago of 115 islands with roughly 98,000 citizens. Seychelles is a melting pot of many cultures which have commingled and coexisted since the first settlement of the islands in 1770. The three main inhabited islands are Mahé, Praslin and La Digue and the official languages are English, French, and Seychellois Creole.
The islands reflect Seychelles’ grand diversity, like a great family, both large and small, each one with its own distinct character and personality. There are 115 islands scattered across 1,400,000 sq km of ocean with the islands falling into 2 categories: 41 “inner” granitic islands that form the backbone of Seychelles’ tourism offerings with their wide suite of services and amenities, most of which are readily accessible through a selection of day trips and excursions, and the remoter “outer” coral islands where at least an overnight stay is essential.
