Seychelles holds first ever TripAdvisor certificate of excellence award ceremony
ATP- arab tourism portal- Over 100 tourism establishments and added services have been awarded with their TripAdvisor certificate of excellence, an event held for the first time in Seychelles.
The award ceremony, held the Savoy Resort and Spa in Beau Vallon was aimed at rewarding the tourism services based on customer reviews.
Large and small hotels, self-catering establishments, restaurants as well as those in the snack bar, tour guide, boat and diving businesses that were awarded with their TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence are those that have received the best reviews from tourists who have visited their establishments or used their services in 2014.
Attending the event were Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St Ange, principal secretary for tourism Anne Lafortune, chief executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board Sherin Naiken and the deputy chief executive Nathalie Didon, chairman of the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association Freddy Karkaria as well as that of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry Marco Francis.
TripAdvisor was represented at the ceremony by Chad Shiver and also present was the chief executive of E-Tourism Frontiers Damian Cook.
In his address, Minister St.Ange said today is vital to reflect on what people who use our tourism establishments and services are saying about what is being offered.
He described TripAdvisor as a leading entity in how guests from around the world make their choice and urged all those presence to recognise the importance of social media.
The Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Seychelles Tourism Board have been working hard to get close to such bodies as TripAdvisor.
Minister St.Ange congratulated the hoteliers and operators of the various services in the tourism for achieving such a feat.
He added that it is good to see that the products and services in our tourism industry are being recognised, thus meaning that Seychelles is on the right path.
Speaking at the ceremony, Miss Naiken said the tourism industry is one which is constantly evolving and the evolution of TripAdvisor into one of the premier tools which consumers use to make their choices of vacations, is an excellent example of the way that a new generation of internet-based mechanisms is revolutionising the industry.
“The award ceremony, provides adequate proof that our islands stand at the forefront of change and embraces the way that the consumers have direct access to knowledge of tourism products and services all over the world,” she said.
TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel review site with nearly 280 million unique monthly visitors and the most popular review site used by travellers to review tourism establishments.
In 2015, research has shown that over 70% of tourists do research online before visiting a destination and booking a hotel. Trip Advisor reviews are highly valued when booking a hotel.
A social media training was held in the afternoon conducted by Messrs Cook and Shiver allowing the tourism trade to maximize their ability to make the most efficient use of digital marketing platforms.
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