Seychelles delegation head to Germany for annual ITB tourism trade fair |04 March 2017

The Seychelles tourism industry will once again be present with a 40-member delegation at the upcoming ITB Berlin tourism trade fair to be held from March 8-12.

The delegation will be headed by the Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine Maurice Loustau-Lalanne. A team from the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) comprising chief executive Sherin Francis, director for Europe Bernadette Willemin, regional manager Edith Hunzinger and marketing executive Natacha Servina will also be present at ITB Berlin.

A total of 28 companies from the private sector will be joining the fair namely – Air Seychelles, Alphonse Island Lodge, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, Beachcomber, Berjaya Resorts Seychelles, Coco de Mer Hotel, Coral Strand Smart Choice Hotel, Savoy Resort and Spa, Creole Travel Services, Denis Private Island, Dhevatara Beach Hotel, Eden Bleu Hotel, Hilton Seychelles, The H Resort, Kempinski Seychelles Resort, Le Duc de Praslin, Val Mer Resort, Le Meridien Fisherman’s Cove, Le Relax Hotel, Maia Luxury Resort, Paradise Sun Hotel, Mason’s Travel, North Island, Pure Seychelles Hotels, Raffles Praslin Seychelles, the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association, 7°South and VPM Yacht Charter.

ITB Berlin is set to have a total of 10,096 exhibitors from 187 countries. It is the world’s leading travel trade show, which presents a wonderful chance to discover the entire world within a few hours and to meet business partners, learn about new trends, concepts and cooperation options as well as deepen existing business relations.

Germany is one of Seychelles’ leading markets and according to the National Bureau of Statistics for the week ending February 26, the overall visitors from Europe increased by 27% compared to the same period in 2016.

An increase of 40% was recorded from the German market, which placed Germany as the second leading market for Seychelles during that period, with a total of 6,234 visitors arriving to our shores.

“The Seychelles’ tourism industry started on an extremely positive note this year and this is being supported further by the enthusiasm of the travel trade partners who are already eager to push the destination even more. This year’s ITB will be a very busy one, and remains very important given it sets the tone for the rest of the year,” said Mrs Francis.

“I thank the local trade partners who will be part of the delegation this year and wish them success for the fair,” she added.