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STB Frankfurt office ends 2017 with participation in TC Leipzig |15 December 2017

 

As visitor numbers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to Seychelles look set to chalk a new record in 2017, the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) office in Frankfurt, concluded the year with a highly successful participation in the ‘Touristik & Caravaning’ (TC) fair.

Seychelles was the official partner country at the TC fair held in Leipzig, a key city in the central German state of Saxony. The event took place from November 22 to 26, 2017.

The TC fair is the largest tourism and holiday consumer show in central Germany, and a key tourism fair for the German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Brandenburg, as well as the neighbouring countries of Poland and the Czech Republic.

As an official partner at TC Leipzig, Seychelles had once again secured a prominent position among the 80 destinations on offer to the nearly 60,000 visitors.

The fairgrounds were fully booked and very crowded during the course of the entire five-day event, which according to a survey, had been successful in fulfilling the expectations of approximately 95 percent of the visitors. The survey also indicated that 94 percent of the visitors intended to return to the fair in 2018.

While this was Seychelles’ first participation in TC Leipzig, the timing and the decision to exploit the often underestimated potential of this part of Germany proved to be very fruitful.

The island destination’s stand impressed potential visitors around the fairgrounds, who were also attracted to media reports resulting from a media trip implemented at the end of September, in addition to posters and numerous social media and print teasers.

The two Seychelles’ stands featured a large display case with the iconic coco de mer nut and a separate entertainment area dubbed the ‘Takamaka Lounge.’ In addition, visitors were given a taste of the Seychellois culture, through demonstration of the rhythmic sega and moutya dances, performed by the national dance troupe, which made daily appearances on stage, all over the fair.  Well-known Seychellois painter, James Agricole, also presented the island nation’s vivid colours through his artistry.

The STB delegation was led by the director for Germany, Austria & Switzerland, Edith Hunzinger and she was joined by marketing executive from the headquarters, Natacha Servina.

Local trade partners present included Derek Savy representing La Digue Island Lodge, Le Duc de Praslin, Valmer Resort; Mira Schermann leading a team of three from SeyVillas, and Lucie Baron leading a team of two from VPM Bestsail.

The STB received considerable encouragement and support from Christoph Rénevier and Sandra Freisleben, the managing director, and project manager of FLEET Events, the organiser of the fair, and the Seychelles' partial sponsor, the Takamaka Rum Distillery.

Mrs Hunzinger expressed her delight that the tourism office in Frankfurt has recorded its fifth major trade and consumer fair partnership in four years.

“The year that saw Germany recapture the number 1 position among Seychelles' visitor source countries and the first ever non-stop flight to Mahé from the Austrian capital of Vienna thus finishes with the fifth ‘starring role’ for the island destination’ at trade and consumer fairs in all three German-speaking countries in only four years -- and the second one in 2017 alone. To top off the success story, Edelweiss Air just announced non-stop service from Zurich to Mahé, starting next fall,” she added.

Mrs Hunzinger also gave media interviews to Radio Energy Sachsen, a local radio station that accompanied the fair with a “Blind Date” radio contest, which allowed listeners to compete against each other in knockout rounds over three weeks. An audience picked the winners -- a man and a woman who had never met before -- from a list of finalists.

The pair will be spending a week together in the Seychelles, courtesy of Qatar Airways that provided the flight tickets, and the Coco de Mer Hotel, where they will be staying in a double room. The trip will be covered extensively -- before, during, and after -- on the radio station and its website.

Derek Savy who was representing La Digue Island Lodge, Le Duc de Praslin, Valmer Resort said: “Our presence in this eastern part of Germany will surely build on the momentum that has solidified this market as the number one for Seychelles. The interest has been massive and will surely translate into firm bookings soon. It is important to sustain this presence at such consumer fairs, especially as a partner country, as it stimulates and drives business directly from future potential clients.”

The representatives of both Seyvillas and VPM also expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the fair, which they said have surpassed their expectations.

The chief executive of the STB, Sherin Francis, said: “I believe the strategy for Seychelles to partner with key consumer fairs on the German market has yielded positive results over the past few years, and we anticipate good return with the latest participation as well.”

Germany, which overtook France as the Seychelles’ leading source market since mid-year, has sent 47,772 visitors to the island nation from January to December 3, 2017. This represents a 29 percent increase over last year when Germany sent 37,029 visitors to the island nation.

 

 

 

 

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