Seychelles Tourism Board presents Mid Year Review with tourism trade partners
Almasalla Travel News- Ashraf El gedawy – The Seychelles Tourism Board has presented it Mid Year Review with its tourism trade partners. The Mid Year Review was a opportunity for the Seychelles Tourism Board to share progress it had made for the past six months on its core markets in Europe, Africa, the Americas, the Middle East and China and set out revised targets for the coming months.
In his opening remarks at the Tourism Board’s Mid Year Review, Minister Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture said that the success of Seychelles marketing depends on the existing public / private sector partnership that is today in place in Seychelles.
“Tourism had many components, and it is the successful dovetailing of these that ensures its health and prosperity. Our success of our marketing of the destination as important as that is, is dependent upon the attractiveness and the competitiveness of our tourism products in an age when the consumer is faced with a bewildering choice of holiday venues, and this is something we lose sight of at our peril’’ Minister Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture said
The Seychelles Tourism Boards office representatives Bernadette Willemin the Director for Europe, David Germain the Director for Africa and the Americas and Jean Luc Lai–Lam from the China Office were all present for this Seychelles Tourism Board Mid Year Review to present their report for the six month period ( Jan-June 2013) of their respective markets and to work together to set the way forward.
Minister Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture also used this opportunity to speak about the Seychelles Tourism Board’s marketing budget.
“ The government of Seychelles provides through taxes three main components of Seychelles Tourism Board’s budget: 1. Marketing, 2. Administration, and 3. Event based activities. It is important that the tourism trade as a whole recognises the government’s continued efforts to make available money for marketing of Seychelles. The Tourism Board will not market an individual business, they market the destination. I invite the trade today to sit with the Tourism Board to look at what we have been doing in the field of marketing of the destination and to also propose new approaches that could help to further increase hotel occupancy’’
Elsia Grandcourt, the Chief Executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board said the Seychelles Tourism Board Mid Year Review is the ideal platform for trade partners to come out with marketing strategies to overcome the challenges ahead.
“This is an opportunity for all stakeholders in the tourism industry to listen to the various presentations that have been scheduled. Your ideas and your contributions will then help us to strategise in a way that will enable us to navigate the challenges before us.”
The highlight of the Seychelles Tourism Board Mid Year Review at Le Meridien Barbarons Hotel is a two day discussions with trade partners such as airlines, travel agents and hotel representatives to name but a few.
