Direct flight to Paris - French travel agents rediscover Seychelles |08 July 2015

“The French market cannot wait to rediscover Seychelles,” believes Jean Philippe Chan Hing Hi, regional delegate for Austral Lagon, a French destination management company that specialises in island destinations.

He was accompanied by nine other representatives from Austral Lagon when they flew back on the inaugural direct flight from Paris to Seychelles last Friday. While their trip to Seychelles included a visit of over 20 resorts, they started their tour at Constance Ephelia Seychelles at Port Launay. This visit included a tour of the resort and a lunch at the Hillside Presidential Villa.

“In the past, France was the main feeder market for Seychelles, but has been taken over recently by Germany. We believe that France can once again become the main market for the archipelago, and the direct flights from Paris will be the main selling point. The destination is simply amazing and we know the French market is already very interested. That being said, most travellers prefer direct flights. Just last week one of the colleagues sold a trip to Seychelles to a couple. They were thinking about another destination, but for the same price and with a direct flight, they preferred Seychelles. And this is just the start,” explained Mr Chan Hing Hi.

During their week-long visit, these travel agents will be visiting the biggest resorts of the archipelago, also spending some time at Lemuria Resort, on Praslin, before heading back to France.

Chantal Firmin, sales manager at Constance Ephelia Seychelles, highlights the importance of this specific DMC.

“We believe that the direct flight between Paris and Mahé will have a truly positive impact on the destination as a whole. France has always had a close relationship with Seychelles and we know the French families were anxious to be able to get direct flights here again. With these representatives, we decided to push the wow factor to the maximum, showing them the best Ephelia and Seychelles has to offer and we believe that they will go back to France energised to promote the destination to their clients,” she said.