Seychelles is starting to reap the rewards for having invested much efforts and resources in promoting the destination in India.
In spite of being a relatively new market for the island destination whose bulk of visitors originate from Europe, India has been witnessing year-on-year growth in the number of visitors coming to Seychelles.
Within a year – after reaching the top 10 in 2016 -- India ended 2017 as Seychelles’ 7th leading source market, having sent 13,518 tourists to the island destination.
This represents a 24 percent increase over 2016 when 10,916 Indian visitors were recorded.
To celebrate this milestone and acknowledge the support and efforts of the Indian trade partners that have been working to promote Seychelles in India, the Seychelles Tourism Board and Air Seychelles hosted an appreciation dinner in Mumbai on January 17, 2018.
The event was attended by the Seychelles Tourism Board Director for India, Korea and Australasia, Amia Jovanovic- Desir,the Director for digital marketing Mr Vahid Jacob ,the chief operating officer at Mumbai-based Blue Square Consultants, which represents the STB in India, Lubaina Sherazi, officials from Air Seychelles, representative of Mason’s Travel, General Manager of the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort and key trade partners in India.
Mrs. Jovanovic- Desir said: “We are happy to see a phenomenal increase in arrival numbers, which is due to our innovative marketing strategies when it comes to the Indian market. Within a year of being among the top 10 source markets, India has climbed to the number 7 spot; this would not have been possible without the constant support of our partners including Air Seychelles, the DMCs, and hotels. They have all journeyed with us, going the extra mile to ensure year-on-year success. It is thanks to this passion that we have been able to position Seychelles as a destination for all segments - families, couples, small groups, intimate celebrations, and MICE.”
It was in 2013 that STB started to intensively tap into the Indian market, with the appointment of its representation office, based in Mumbai.
The partners promoting Seychelles have since been engaging various methods to increase awareness of the destination, including having a digital presence. India is linked to Seychelles through five weekly flights to and from Mumbai.
During the appreciation dinner, five Indian tour operators -- Sujit Nair from Akquasun, Jai Bhujwala and Ashutosh Gupta from Holidays Box, Varun Sarda from WTFares, Mr. Bhanu R and Mr. Amit Pradhan from Ottila, Rohit Shorey fromDestination Travel Services and Mr. Parthip Thyagarajan from Wedding Sutra.com were presented with certificates of appreciation. This was in recognition of their hard work in 2017, which has contributed towards the double-digit growth in visitor numbers from India.