SEYCHELLES’ UNITED MARKETING FRONT YIELDS PHENOMENAL RESULTS
(Posted 12th September 2015)
In a modification of the united we stand and divided we fall does ‘United we grow and divided we don’t’ come to mind when seeing the phenomenal success of Seychelles’ tourism promotion over the first eight months of the year.
Instead of levelling off after the strong months earlier in the year has a growth of now 19 percent vis a vis the same period of last year been accomplished. A year ago arrivals stood at 153.469 visitors by air and sea and this year the number has risen to 182.089 tourists who have already come to the archipelago.
Major factors for this are the Visa free entry policy for citizens of every country from around the world, aided of course by a rise in seat numbers with extra flights and larger aircraft used to bring tourists to Mahe. In particular the Air Seychelles flights launched from Mahe to Mumbai in December last year, now standing at four a week, have contributed to the rise in visitors from India, which from last year’s 1.667 has risen to 4.795 from January to the end of August, representing a 188 percent increase. Direct flights to China are thought to have a similar effect on arrival numbers, gradually reducing the previous dependence on Europe as the islands main source market for visitors.
France has returned to the top of the visitor scale, outpacing Germany, and this is attributed to the eventual return to Paris with nonstop flights by Air Seychelles, after dropping the notion that flights via Abu Dhabi would be enough to entice the French market to visit in larger numbers. Germany however will remain high on the scale of visitors when Condor, presently operating one flight a week, will add a second flight from next year. Extra capacity of flights to and from the UAE have raised their visitor numbers and the same can be said for South Africa, China and India.
The top ten producer countries for tourists from January to the end of August 2015 now stand as follows:
France 24,923
Germany 23,331
Italy 15,537
UAE 13,873
Britain and Ireland 10,798
China 10,682
Russia 8,836
South Africa 8,078
Switzerland 6,953
India 4,795
Some of the major beneficiaries across the islands have been small, Seychellois owned properties like B&B’s self-catering establishments and holiday villas though the larger resorts too have seen a boost to their occupancies in 2015. Some sources on the island however attribute the growth to significant rebating which, while boosting occupancies has eaten into the bottom line.
‘One thing is for sure, our united efforts of private sector, tourist board, ministry, Air Seychelles and more recently the chamber of commerce is paying off. The Seychelles present their marketing message across the world without ifs and buts. We remain a highly visible destination of choice for glitz and glamour. We host show biz and music industry celebrities like few other destinations, receive royalty, captains of industry and tycoons but have at the same time managed to also promote the down to earth small resorts put up by our own people. While we have internal discussions on tax rates, employment of very much needed expatriate labour and generally the cost of doing business, when we go abroad to promote we leave those issued behind. We have found a way to first increase the size of the cake before dividing it and eating it. It is all about presenting a united front and the Seychelles have done that. Our calendar of events has raised our destination profile too. It is as much about innovation as it is about continuation. Our hotel school has introduced new relevant courses and every Seychellois who wants to find work in the hospitality and tourism sector is assured to find a job, start a career. 2015 will go into the record books as our best year ever and the bottom line is that we all worked hand in hand to achieve this’ wrote in a regular source from the islands when passing the latest arrival figures.
For more information about the Seychelles islands click on www.seychelles.travel
