WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS CEREMONY 2015 FOR AFRICA AND THE INDIAN OCEAN ISLANDS MOVES TO THE SEYCHELLES
(Posted 26th May 2015)
Africa’s Travel Oscar winners will this year be announced on the 20th of June at the Kempinski Seychelles Resort, together with the awards for the Indian Ocean islands.
The Baie Lazare based resort, opened in March 2012, has over the years become a major venue for meetings and conferences and several high profile tourism and aviation events have taken place at the Kempinski Seychelles since then.
Seychelles’ Minister for Tourism, Alain St. Ange, was swift to react when the news about the venue were announced by WTA’s President Graham Cooke: ‘Our islands are today more visible than they have ever been. We have worked hard though our all our contacts and have used our cultural events on which to ride our PR campaign because of the press that comes to Seychelles to cover these events with the largest press group publishing reports on Seychelles being attracted to our islands annually during carnival time. Today this visibility is bringing many benefits for the Seychelles and one such direct benefit is the coming of the World Travel Awards. When we met and discussed with Mr Graham Cooke, the President and Founder of the World Travel Awards on the hosting of the Award Ceremony in Seychelles it was the continuation of our efforts to place Seychelles always in the forefront and for our islands to be seen as leaders in the world of tourism. Today we can say that we are thankful that Mr Cooke has decided to move the 2015 award ceremony to Seychelles. As Seychelles gets ready to welcome the best of the best from Africa and from the Indian Ocean Islands who will win their 2015 World Travel Awards it is for our islands again another unique opportunity to showcase Seychelles as the unique tourism destination. We staged a great carnival where we told the world we all loved Seychelles, on the 20th June we again have the opportunity as patriotic Seychellois that we again say we love Seychelles as we tell the world to also love our beautiful islands’.
Africa’s tourism who is who will be assembling in the Seychelles’ this year to learn which of their properties has been voted as Africa’s and the Indian Ocean’s best and who will be representing Africa in the global finals where our continent competes against the best in the world.
Said Graham in a befitting roundup: ‘Winners for this award are voted for by travel and tourism professionals worldwide, and this accolade recognises the commitment to excellence which these tourism organisations have demonstrated over the last twelve months’.
From Eastern Africa, in particular Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, are several companies expected to once again lift trophies and their representatives will no doubt now rush to make their bookings to fly to Mahe, with Kenya Airways offering the best connections via Nairobi. Accommodation, if not booked at the Kempinski – which will no doubt be full that weekend – can be sourced via the Seychelles Tourism Board website where an accommodation link allows for direct bookings with hotels on the island. www.seychelles.travel
