Seychelles heads to the ITB Tourism Trade Fair in Berlin
Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture and Sherin Naiken, the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board are on their way to Berlin this week to head the Seychelles tourism and hospitality delegation attending the ITB Tourism Trade Fair.
A large number of the Seychelles private sector trade are already in Berlin for this year’s ITB Tourism Trade Fair and they will be joined by Minister St.Ange and their CEO of the Tourism Board, Sherin Naiken in time for the official opening of the fair on Wednesday. Germany is today a very important tourism market for Seychelles and in 2014 ended the year as the main market for the islands. Members of the private sector wanted to claim their fair share of the German market have all travelled to Germany for that tourism fair.
Minister St.Ange and CEO Naiken will be joined in Berlin by Bernadette Willemin, the Seychelles Tourism Board’s Director for Europe and Edith Hunzinger, the Board’s Manager for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
A series of meetings are already scheduled for the Seychelles delegation and these include new Tour Operators looking at Seychelles, meetings with airlines flying to Seychelles, cruise ships looking at using Port Victoria for fly-cruise possibilities amongst many others.
Many Seychelles hotels are enjoying very good occupancy this year and it is these same properties who are working with the Tourism Board in their promotional activities. Since the reorganisation of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, it is Sherin Naiken, the CEO of the Tourism Board who has become the face of Seychelles tourism as the key person responsible today for the marketing of the islands. The Seychelles Tourism Board’s only responsibility is the marketing of Seychelles and this has happened ever since the administration and policy sections moved under Anne Lafortune, the newly appointed PS for Tourism.
Minister St.Ange often describes the role and responsibility of Sherin Naiken as that of a fisherman who needs to put fish on the market and therefore is compelled to get out to the fishing banks and to fish. "Sherin Naiken cannot sit in her ESPACE Building Offices if she wants to deliver what is expected of her. She needs to be in the tourism source markets and work hard to claim her fair share of the tourism market for Seychelles. If she sits in Seychelles we will see a constant decline in our visitor arrival numbers. The Coca Cola principle is so applicable for any promotion and this includes the marketing of Seychelles. When you are not visible, you fade away from bring relevant and when this happens your arrival figures suffer" said Minister St.Ange as he prepared to head to Berlin.
Photo Caption: Minister Alain St. Ange and CEO Sherin Naiken
