The Seychelles tourism industry was in India last week on what they called a Tourism Promotional Roadshow that took the delegation to Chennai and also to Bangalore. This Promotional Roadshow was a follow-up to similar events just a year ago in Delhi and Mumbai. The aim of this drive into India was for the tropical islands of the Seychelles to increase its visibility in order to remain relevant as a holiday option for the Indian holidaymakers.
Sherin Naiken, the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board, explained when she was addressing her event in Bangalore that she was set to continue to work with the travel trade of India in order for Seychelles to claim its fair share of their outbound tourism market. “We are in India, and more precisely in Bangalore today, to invite you all to be our partners on the ground here and to work with us to offer your clients and the Indian holidaymakers a new holiday destination,” said Miss Naiken before going on to spell out key USPs – the unique selling points – of Seychelles.
Heads of some of the largest tourism operators of Bangalore were present to discover Seychelles and to meet the islands’ tourism operators who were after a greater share of the Indian tourism market. Working with the Seychelles Tourism Board on this Chennai and Bangalore promotional trip were: Air Seychelles, Ethiopian Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Kempinski Seychelles Resort, Eden Island Development Company, Constance Ephelia Resort, Sainte Anne Resort & Spa, Banyan Tree Seychelles, Le Relax Hotels – Seychelles, Enchanted Island Resort, and Savoy Resort & Spa Seychelles. Two Indian travel companies – Holidays Box and Akquasun Group – also joined in for this Tourism Promotional Road Show.
Also standing with the tourism industry on this India working visit were Minister Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture; Amia Jovanovic-Desir, a senior marketing staff at the Tourism Board; Sunil Mathapati and Aswini Krishna of the Tourism Board’s India Office; the Seychelles Honorary Consul of Seychelles in Chennai, Mr. M. S. Sai, along with a delegation from the islands’ business trading community with links to India namely Ramu Pillay, Kannan Pillay, Shanmugam Pillay, Durai Pillay, Nadesh Pillay, and Palani Basha.
Minister St.Ange on his part said when he addressed the launch of the Roadshow in Bangalore that India is an important tourism source market for the Seychelles tourism industry. “I want to start by congratulating the private sector trade who are present here and working alongside the islands’ Tourism Board. You are here because, like us, you see the need to work in synergy to make Seychelles the new holiday destination for Indian travelers. We have so much that should make our islands the sought-after destination for Indian holidaymakers. Yes, we have a pristine environment, and yes, we are blessed with a small and friendly population living as one immaterial of the color of the skin, immaterial of religious beliefs, and political affiliation in our ‘One Seychelles.’ We are positioned but next door to India and connected by a direct non-stop flight from Mumbai by Air Seychelles with seamless connections from Bangalore with Jet Airways, a partner airline of our Air Seychelles. We are also well connected with Ethiopian Airlines, SriLanka Airlines, Kenya Airways, Etihad, and Emirates. Indian nationals, like any citizen from the world, do not need visas to travel to Seychelles, which means that holiday planning can still be made at short notice, and yes, it is very important that we have a range of accommodation establishments to suit every budget,” said the Tourism Minister before he elaborated on the friendly ties that exist between India and Seychelles.
Aswini Krishna of the Tourism Board’s India Office also took time to do her destination presentation which the travel trade found as very productive and said that it will help then to focus on Seychelles.
Seychelles is a founding member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) . For more information on Seychelles Minister of Tourism and Culture Alain St.Ange, click here.
