Saint Ange Tourism Report – 25th February 2019

Victoria, Mahe (Seychelles) – February 26, 2019 (travelindex.com) – The news that Air Mauritius is facing losses was followed by a number of tourism trade messages between Mauritians and Seychellois and many were calling for more recognition of our Islanders. Mauritius has a very strong private sector tourism trade and they are seen as the saviour for the Mauritius tourism industry and for work for thousands in Mauritius. The private sector trade in Mauritius have been steady, strong and dynamic. This is why the Air Mauritius news was troubling when they have hospitality and tourism expertise right on their door mat. In Seychelles it is very much the same scenario, and the islanders who remain the backbone of their tourism industry often feel they lack the recognition and the needed support from the Government.

Both these islands have their islanders who are the pillars of their tourism industry and of their economy. They need to be more heard and they need to be respected. The news from the world news wire saying that “Air Mauritius slips back into the red’ troubles the region and every islander of the region.

On North Island as it welcomes being part of The Luxury Collection of Mariott International

North Island announces that it is joining The Luxury Collection, part of Marriott International, Inc., comprised of world-renowned hotels and resorts offering unique, authentic experiences that evoke lasting, treasured memories. As one of the world’s leading private islands, North Island is a unique addition to The Luxury Collection as it makes its debut in the Seychelles, one of the world’s most desirable destinations. This iconic island resort is also the first hotel in the portfolio of the newly-launched A Small World Hotel Collection, who will oversee the resort’s integration into The Luxury Collection brand portfolio and the operations of the business.

Ian Vernon sees the Coco de Mer imprint in Miami Airport

Seychelles has a world recognised treasure that grows in our UNESCO World Heritage Site on the island of Praslin, but the question today is if Praslin and the Praslinois are benefiting from their natural treasure as everyone else seems to be…

Ian Vernon recently posted this message on Social Media:- “Caught this fine specimen of art at the Miami Int’l Airport last month while passing thru on my way home. Bet all my Seychellois family and friends recognize this special bit of island history”.

Air Seychelles to withdraw its flights to Abu Dhabi as it announces resumption of flights to Madagascar.

Seychelles is at the helm of the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands once again, and the date when Didier Dogley, the Tourism Minister of the islands took office coincided with the announcement that Air Seychelles will be resuming direct flights to Madagascar. The Big Island of Madagascar deserves better air connectivity with its regional island nations as it remains one of the six islands of this Indian Ocean grouping. Madagascar has just had a change of Government and Joel Randriamandranto is the new Minister for Tourism. He entered office just as Madagascar was fighting a Measles outbreak that caused almost 1000 deaths and many more are left infected. The new Madagascar Minister is facing this new challenge bravely and we owe him the support and all the assistance he deserves.

But on the Seychelles front Members of the Tourism Industry and many serious Business Community members have been questioning the start of the Air Seychelles direct flights to Madagascar especially now with the Measles outbreak. The Business Community see the risks as being too great for our small islands that remain so dependant on tourism and many have said that this is not a very good idea. Seychelles is well connected to Reunion by Air Austral, a strategic partner for Air Madagascar and could be enticed to increase their flights to Seychelles with a better connection with their flights to and from Madagascar. How is Seychelles going to benefit from this .. and does any benefit if any not outweigh the risks to our already very fragile tourism industry as a small island state. Why therefore risk it for a biscuit! A very bad decision in my view and in the view of so many in Seychelles which is unnecessary.

This announcement of restarting the flight to Madagascar came just as Air Seychelles, the National Airline of the Seychelles is considering to discontinue its flights to Abu Dhabi, a tourist hub and one that is linking Seychelles to the World. From within the Airline many are confused and the tourism trade cannot understand the discontinuing of flights from a tourism source market to introduce a flight where we started and pulled out so often in the last number of years because of viability of that route. This link was a commercial one when Air Seychelles flew to Paris as it provided a pool of passengers looking for a cheaper route to Europe. Today Air Seychelles is not flying to Europe and this link is a point to point (Madagascar / Seychelles) and cannot be a sought after route over tourism source markets possible routes.

Destination Seychelles receives exposure at ‘Le salon de Vacances’ fair in Belgium

The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), alongside some trade partners, represented destination Seychelles in Belgium during a holiday fair held from February 7, 2019 to February 10, 2019.

Held in the Belgian capital Brussels, over four days, the 61st edition of the ‘Le salon de Vacances’ saw the presence of about hundred thousand visitors, each looking for the perfect destination for their next holiday.

The delegation representing the destination at ‘Le salon de Vacances’ fair was headed by the Regional Director Europe Mrs. Bernadette Willemin, who was accompanied by Ms. Myra Fanchette, the STB Senior Marketing Executive in Paris.

Mr. Eddie d’Offay from Pure Seychelles Hotel and Mrs. Maryse William of Seychelles European Reservation, two representatives of trade partners joined the STB team at the Seychelles’ dedicated stand.

The 350 exhibitors spread out on more than 33,000meter square in different pavilion of the Brussels Expo, gave the public a wide range of activities from different destination to choose from.

The ‘Le salon de Vacances’, above all famous for the information bestowed by tourism professionals from all over the world, reserves from now on new experiences for the visitors

Other than being able to reserve and plan their next trip, visitors had the opportunity to benefit from the wellness zone, and get sessions of massage and relaxation. They were also able to do diving initiation or discover unique flavors coming from the four corners of the world in the cooking theatre.

Consistent with past editions, the ‘Le salon de Vacances’, was a great success. The STB team noted with satisfaction that this year’s edition recorded a good turnout.

The peaks of visitors was specially noted over the weekend which was marked as the most crowded and busiest days with the Belgians public coming out in full force looking for their next holiday destination.

Speaking about the STB’s participation at the ‘Le salon de Vacances’, Mrs. Bernadette Willemin mentioned that Seychelles remains constantly visible on all European markets in order to keep the numbers in elevation.

“The STB office started the New Year on a high note, with its presence at various travel and trade fairs in the different countries under its jurisdiction and this includes the ‘Salon des Vacances’. It is important for us to mark our presence on various fairs specially in Europe as we believe destination Seychelles still has lots to offer in the different market segments and for different holiday budgets,” said Mrs. Willemin.

In 2019, the fair proved to be among one of the biggest national tourism show in Belgium.