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STB meets Chinese partners |18 December 2014

The Seychelles tourism trade has a long tradition and surely a very good reputation in the effective and successful handling of European, American or African tourists.

But what about the growing number of our new guests from China? Are we sufficiently trained and equipped to fully satisfy their demand and adapt to their culture which are both completely different compared to those of our traditional friends?

The answer is surely a big ‘no’. This is why the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) has decided to invite a group of Chinese outbound tour operators to meet local trade partners and at the same time have a firsthand impression of the destination.

The meeting was held yesterday at the Savoy Resort & Spa at Beau Vallon, with the aim of defining the way forward on how to welcome and treat Chinese guests.
 
It was also attended by chief executives (CEOs) of the STB and Seychelles Hotel and Tourism Association (SHTA) respectively Sherin Naiken and Jennifer Sinon and STB’s manager for China Jean-Luc Lai Lam.

Launching the day’s discussions, Ms Naiken said that the STB wants to develop a good tourism marketing strategy in China.

She added that Seychelles’ visa-free policy and the friendship with the People’s Republic of China are factors which are attracting more visitors from the Chinese mainland, with the arrival figures tripled over the last few years.



She referred to a recent study which has shown that Seychelles is currently among the best island destinations for the Chinese, with visitor expectations from China now surpassing Mauritius and the Maldives.

She concluded that China being the potentially biggest foreign tourism market, it is important to know how to manage it.

 “Chinese are different from European visitors. We need to understand them, to understand their holiday habits and patterns,” she said.

Speaking on behalf of Chinese tour operator CTrip.com, Dolly Duan however stressed that competition from other islands is still high.
She gave the example of Mauritius which already boasts vast experience in welcoming Chinese tourists and which offers regular direct flights to Beijing.

Ms Duan observed that Seychelles already benefits from some advantages in attracting Chinese visitors. Among those are hotels offering promotions such as one free night on a week’s stay and the presence of Chinese employees in hotels and travel agencies.

She however insisted that more products should be developed in order to attract more of her compatriots.

“Chinese tourists are outgoing and do not only go to the beach or to the gym. One niche market to tap is weddings and honeymoons for example,” she said.
As other challenges, Ms Duan stated a lack of Seychellois Chinese-speaking guides and the unavailability of Facebook in China. As a solution to the problem, she has encouraged local partners to discover and make use of other social networks such as Qzone, Weibo and Wechat.

She has pointed out that the visit has provided her and her colleagues with a good opportunity to promote Seychellois-owned small hotels, compared to only 5 stars which are now welcoming Chinese guests.

Other Chinese travel agencies present at yesterday’s meeting were High end Travel, CAISSA, FIT-MEIYA, CTS MICE Service, Island travel-Paopaohai and Conde Nast Traveller.

 

 

 

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