Tourism group looks at new marketing strategies |04 July 2009

With over a dozen delegates from various parts of the industry, the meeting of the SHTA’s marketing committee took place in the conference room at the Sainte Anne Resort and Spa.

Among those present were SHTA chairman Louis D’Offay, Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) marketing director Alain St Ange with other STB staff, representatives of various hotels, airlines and the Ministry of Finance.

Mr D’Offay said the committee will brainstorm new initiatives for this and next year, then submit them to the proper authorities.

“Ever since we got the mandate to market Seychelles as a tourism destination, one of our top aims has been to bring the maximum number of tourists possible to Seychelles and make sure Seychelles is fully able to accommodate their every need,” he said.

“And to do this we also analyse international markets and monitor trends to see where the most lucrative markets are, without compromising the other ‘regular’ ones.”

Mr D’Offay also said funding is a major difficulty they are encountering and he appealed to the private sector for help. 

Over the course of the morning, the committee studied shifts and compared statistics for the past few years – including trends in the number of seats available on airlines flying the Seychelles route – and looked at the interest of other airlines in flying here.

Speaking for the STB, Mr St Ange said they intend to focus a large part of their marketing strategy on the United Kingdom, starting as soon as mid-July.