Seychelles organizes successful fam trip for Middle East travel agents

After a very successful familiarization trip with Emirates Holidays agents in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in January 2014, another trip was recently organized for the top-selling agents booking through Emirates Holidays for Seychelles in collaboration with the Seychelles Tourism Board’s Middle East Office and Emirates Holidays.

The 5-day trip has equipped the agents to experience the product and destination first-hand so they can adequately sell it to their clients by visiting different hotels, discovering activities catering to different segments, and exploring the tourist spots among many others.

The FAM participants explored Mahe and Praslin and stayed at the Raffles Praslin Seychelles, Kempinski Seychelles Resort, and Constance Ephelia Resort. The mode of transportation through Cat Cocos between the main islands offered the group a good perspective of Seychelles to offer an island-hopping experience.

Part of the trip was also to experience the food ranges from international cuisine and the Seychellois Creole cuisine which is a fusion of French, Indian, and Chinese cultures and offers the subtlety and innovation of French cuisine as well as the spicy flavors and exotic culinary combinations of the East across a fascinating spectrum of textures, tastes, colors, and ingredients.

“Having the top-selling agents gave us an opportunity to further increase their destination knowledge and to produce more. To experience the product is one of the most effective methods to entice the clients as they can passionately share their experience and advice of which product and services will be suitable for each segment. We will continue to arrange fam trips along with our partners in the region as this serves as a valuable tool,” says Ahmed Fathallah, Regional Manager, Seychelles Tourism Board Middle East Office (Dubai).

Site inspections were made at the Banyan Tree Seychelles, Maia Luxury Resort, Savoy Hotel Resort, Le Meridien Fisherman’s Cove, DoubleTree by Hilton Allamanda, Constance Lemuria Resort, Le Domaine de La Reserve, and the newly-opened Enchanted Island Resort.

This fam was a good platform as well since Emirates Airline has announced to commence the double daily flights from October 28 this year, increasing the existing 12 scheduled flights to 14.

The Seychelles Tourism Board was mandated by the 2014 edition of their Mid-Year Marketing Meeting to re-strategize its operation in the Middle East and the GCC countries. The meeting also called for a consolidated approach in relationship with airlines flying to Seychelles and this joint exercise to get tour operators to know and appreciate Seychelles is a step in the right direction.

Seychelles is a founding member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) .