Seychelles gets off to a good start at ITB Asia with visit from Singapore Minister

The Seychelles islands started its first day of ITB Asia 2012, the trade show for the Asian Travel Market, on a good note with a courtesy visit from the Singapore’s Minister of Home Affairs and Trad

The Seychelles islands started its first day of ITB Asia 2012, the trade show for the Asian Travel Market, on a good note with a courtesy visit from the Singapore’s Minister of Home Affairs and Trade and Industry, Minister S. Iswaran during his official tour of the expo.

Minister S. Iswaran visited the Seychelles islands’ stand right after the opening ceremony along with other VIPs, including officials of ITB Berlin – the parent event of ITB Asia – and the Singapore Tourism Board.

TB Asia is hosted annually in Singapore and this year is taking place between October 17-19 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre of the Marina Bay Sands. This year’s event took off on a high note as ITB Asia is celebrating its fifth anniversary of the travel trade show. The three-day event kicked off with the opening ceremony, after which the Minister and the VIP guests were welcomed by a traditional dragon dance for the ribbon-cutting ceremony that was followed by the cake-cutting ceremony to mark the event’s fifth anniversary.

Minister S. Iswaran stopped at the Seychelles’ 18-sqm stand, decorated with a beautiful backdrop of the destination showcasing its location and striking white sandy beaches. He was attracted to the colorful Seychelles “Carnaval International de Victoria” 2013 pull-up banner displayed at the stand which caught his attention as he was walking from the Beirut stand.

His courtesy visit to the Seychelles stand attracted the attention of the many press members and VIPs who were accompanying the Minister on his official tour of the expo.

Talking to the Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Elsia Grandcourt, Minister S.Iswaran astutely said that it is great seeing Seychelles in attendance at ITB Asia. He was curious to know for how long the Seychelles has been exhibiting at ITB Asia as well as inquiring how the tourism business has been for the Seychelles thus far. The Minister who obviously knows the destination expressed that Seychelles should use the coco-de-mer as a unique selling point to create more visibility and awareness on the Asian market. Following this remark and with a feeling of delight at the Minister’s knowledge of the destination, Mrs. Grandcourt seized the opportunity to present him with the Seychelles giveaway – a coco-de-mer USB encased in a beautiful box featuring the beautiful beaches of the destination.

The Seychelles islands will be exhibiting at ITB Asia 2012 for all three-days, using the exhibition as a platform to further establish the islands’ presence and network with key industry players from the Asian travel and tourism operators from Asia and beyond.

Launched in 2008, ITB Asia, which isa three-day, business-to-business tourism event, has become one of the most important travel exhibitions for tourism operators and tourism organizations in Asia.

Maintaining the momentum of past exhibitions each year, ITB Asia is one of the region’s fastest-growing travel trade shows, with 2011 being a milestone year for its organizers as it recorded remarkable results in terms of exhibitor numbers, buyers’ participation, strong conference program, and overall attendance.

As it strived to bring the latest knowledge and insights for its attendees, ITB Asia recorded over 7,500 attendees, which was a 14 percent increase over 2010, and saw more than 740 exhibitors from over 90 countries worldwide.

According to the organizers of the event, this year’s ITB Asia is expected to surpass last year’s record performance.

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

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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