DRMumbai: A pristine archipelago, Seychelles Islands is located in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar and about 1600 km east of Kenya. Comprising 115 islands, it is positioning itself as a premium destination for leisure and romance. Their large booth at ITB Berlin had lot of natural elements like flowers and greens. In 2017, the small island nation grew by 15 per cent across all major markets, especially Germany (32 per cent), which is one of its biggest source markets. Austria market has also shown tremendous traction.
The small island nation which grew by 15 per cent across all major markets, especially Germany, is positioning itself as a premium destination for leisure
Seychelles has about 6000 rooms in the classified category, including five star hotels and resorts, rustic island lodges and cozy beachside bungalows. Average duration of stay is 10 nights, which is very healthy for a destination like Seychelles. ‘Island Hopping’ is the best activity and each island has a unique character and offers a distinct experience to the visitors.
Sherin Francis, CEO, Seychelles Tourism Board, said: “Europe today accounts for 62 per cent of our total market. We want to de-risk this over a period of time by nurturing and growing emerging markets like China and India and even the GCC.”
Gulf-based airlines connect Seychelles well. GCC is the third largest source market of the island nation. UAE market grew by 33 per cent last year.
“Our presence in India is still in its infancy (hardly four years old) but in 2017 we received 14,000 visitors from the country.” Tourism earned $468 million in 2017 – 25 per cent of GDP directly and 60 per cent indirectly. “This September, we are planning roadshows in India. Training for tour operators is very core to our strategy. Later this year, Seychelles will also launch its multi-lingual online training platform for partners. If they require further training, we will organise offline sessions, too. This will help engage large number of partners across markets.”
Air Connectivity
British Airways – Summer Schedule
Edelweiss Air from Switzerland – Winter Schedule (October 2018)
Austrian Airlines – Winter Schedule
Air Seychelles – Five flights to Mumbai per week
Key markets
UK, Germany, France, Italy
Fringe markets
Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Russia, Scandinavia, Romania and other Eastern European countries
Crunching Numbers
Germany: 50,000 visitors
France: 40,000
UAE: 33,000
Others: 20,000
Major segments
Families, leisure, weddings, honeymooners and small MICE (up to 500 pax)
MUST-SEE List
- Mahe: Water sports and adventure activties, including zip lining, paragliding, jet skiing, snorkeling and diving. Victoria, the capital of Seychelles and the Seychelles international airport are in Mahe
- Anse Lazio white sand beach in Praslin Island – rated world’s best beach year-on-year
- UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Aldabra, the world’s largest raised coral atoll and Praslin Island’s Vallée de Mai, once believed to be the original site of the Garden of Eden
- Anse Source d’Argent on La Digue Island is the world’s most photographed beach
- Bird Island, a coral sanctuary, is home to thousands of tropical birds, hawksbill and green turtles and breathtaking marine life
