Seychelles to launch a new marketing campaign at ITB, appoints Alain St. Ange to the post of director of tourism marketing

eTurboNews’ very own special contributor has a gotten a very important: director of tourism marketing or the Seychelles.

Seychelles Vice President Joseph Belmont was on hand at the islands tourism trade meeting when Alain St. Ange was appointed to the post.

Seychelles, the Indian Ocean tourist paradise islands, is setting up an “Affordable Seychelles Campaign” in order to offer to tourists “a once-in-a-lifetime vacation at a once-in-a-lifetime price,” the Vice President Joseph Belmont announced on Saturday in Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles.

Vice President Belmont, also responsible for the tourism portfolio, was Speaking at the general tourism meeting on Saturday at the International Conference Centre in Victoria to introduce St. Ange. Belmont declared that the campaign will highlight the new favorable conversion rates of the rupee.

He declared that it is a unique window of opportunity for visitors to enjoy the vacation they always dreamed of at significantly discounted prices.

Vice President Belmont also pointed out that there has already been a 15 percent drop in tourist arrivals since January 2009 and the forecast for the rest of the year is even bleaker. He added that the government fears that revenue from the tourism industry will this year also drop by 25 percent as it will be badly affected by the global recession.

The vice president stated that all stakeholders of the tourism industry should contribute to make the country’s new marketing campaign a success. He has also asked hoteliers to be more flexible in pricing their products sensibly and that the prices should match their promises.

Mr. Belmont disclosed that the “Affordable Seychelles Campaign” will be unveiled at the ITB Travel Fair in the German capital Berlin this week.

St. Ange will be holding Press Conferences in Paris, Berlin, Rome and Moscow during the next two weeks to launch his new approach as the country’s director of tourism marketing. He will also be heading his country’s delegation to ITB in Berlin.

When he addressed the local trade in the presence of Vice President Belmont, St. Ange said that he wanted the trade to work with him to turn the tourism arrival numbers around. He said that the new marketing drive is a departure from what was done in the past and he told the island hoteliers that he was confident that together they would see success faster that was previously believed.