Indaba visit follows Arabian Travel Market success
09.05.2009
Seychelles tourism trade representatives who have just closed business at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) will be in Durban, South Africa, this weekend.
There, they will take part in the Indaba trade fair, which opens today and ends on Tuesday May 12.
The director of tourism marketing, Alain St Ange, has described the ATM as a success, saying the Middle East market has a lot of potential and can help boost Seychelles’ visitor arrivals.
“The Middle East remains a market with big growth potential,” said Mr St Ange. “And we need to be consistent as a country in how we approach this market.”
Seychelles has recently been working hard to consolidate itself in the Middle East, with workshops held here to educate the local trade on ways to better penetrate the market. The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) has also set up visits to the region to meet trade partners and regional airlines, and STB chairman Maurice Loustau-Lalanne was in Dubai during the ATM to meet government officials and investor groups.
After Dubai, the Seychelles delegation flew to South Africa for the Indaba fair.
Mr St Ange said he remains confident that the new momentum in the country’s tourism industry will bring positive results for Seychelles.
“We are now able to confirm to the South African partners that the difficulties with airline delays will not be repeated now that Air Seychelles has taken delivery of a fourth aircraft,” he said, reacting to recent questions from the South African press.
South Africa has always been an important market for Seychelles and a sector in which the STB wants to strengthen its representation, he added.