SUBIOS, the Seychelles Festival of the Sea, will be tweaked and relaunched as Seychelles’ Ocean Festival to mark its 25th anniversary in 2015 to make it more relevant for the concept of the blue economy and remain relevant for a key Seychelles niche market.

As of 2015, the Seychelles Festival of the Sea will take a clean break with and from the Sub-Indian Ocean Seychelles SUBIOS of the past.

The festival staged annually in Seychelles in November will now be relaunched as the Seychelles’ Ocean Festival.

It was during the official closing ceremony of SUBIOS, the Seychelles Festival of the Sea 2014 at Beau Vallon, that the name to indicate a totally new direction of the event was unveiled by Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture.

Minister St.Ange said that the Seychelles’ Ocean Festival will make the perfect marriage between tourism and the blue economy concept.

“Seychelles’ Ocean Festival will be the ideal marketing tool for the Seychelles to showcase not only its underwater world attractions, but it will also encourage more facilities that are available to make everyone enjoy a day out on the islands’ turquoise blue seas to be also involved in this annual celebration. The Seychelles’ Ocean Festival will now become a marriage between the blue economy and Seychelles tourism,” said Minister Alain St.Ange.

The Chief Executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board said Sub-Indian Ocean Seychelles SUBIOS original meaning and purpose have been lost, and the time is right to make it more relevant to Seychelles’ niche marketing.

“On a marketing point of view, SUBIOS is no longer relevant to Seychelles’ niche marketing. It is with this in mind that we have come up with a new formula and name to give a new direction to the event. In 2015, Seychelles Ocean Festival will merge with an international festival of the sea which we are still finalizing.”

2015 Seychelles’ Ocean Festival will bring back the underwater film and image festival. It will showcase interesting synergies between Seychelles and the niche international festival, and it will look at many more water-based activities.

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