Seychelles records another fruitful participation at ITB Berlin 2018 |24 March 2018
With Germany already leading the Seychelles' visitor arrival figures in 2018, the island destination has not failed to create more hype at this year’s ITB Berlin.
The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) was once again joined by an enthusiastic group of trade partners at ITB Berlin 2018, held at Messe Berlin, Germany.
The 52nd edition of the annual travel trade show was officially opened on Wednesday March 7, and went on until Sunday March 11.
As is customary the first three days was reserved for trade visitors, while the fair was open to consumers on the weekend.
Since the opening day, the Seychelles team were extremely busy conduction meetings with trade visitors, responding to their enquiries and forming new partnerships.
The Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, STB's chief executive Sherin Francis, director for Europe Bernadette Willemin, director for Germany, Austria & Switzerland Edith Hunzinger and marketing executive Rolira Young were present at the event.
The local trade partners present at the 2018 ITB Berlin were: Alphonse Island Seychelles, Avani Seychelles Barbarons Resort & Spa, Berjaya Resorts Seychelles, Coco de Mer & Black Parrot suites, Cerf Island Resort, Creole Travel Services, Coral Strand Hotel/Savoy Resort & Spa, Denis Private Island/CaranaBeach & Indian Ocean Lodge, Eden Island, H Resort, Hilton Seychelles Hotels, Kempinski Seychelles Resort, Le Duc de Praslin/La Digue Island Lodge & Valmer Resort, Le Meridien Fishermen’s Cove, Mason’s Travel, MAIA Luxury Resort & Paradise sun Hotel, Pure Seychelles Hotels, Raffles Seychelles, VPM Yacht Charter and 7 Degrees South.
This year the STB went to the ITB fair with a completely redesigned exhibition stand, sporting a simple but classy appearance with a touch of modernity.
Aside from showcasing the amazing sceneries, the colourful stand, which is replacing the one used for the past three years has been designed to portray various elements of the islands’ natural beauty.
The STB director for Germany, Austria & Switzerland, Edith Hunzinger, said: "I am pleased to see that the trade has once again extended its support as the Seychelles delegation at the ITB fair keeps increasing each year. This inevitably shows the importance of the German, Austrian and Swiss markets for the tourism trade."
Germany, which enjoys direct flights from Frankfurt to Seychelles operated by German leisure airline Condor, has sent 8,281 visitors to Seychelles so far in 2018, which represents a 16 percent increase over last year.
Another German-speaking country, Austria, also has direct air connections to Seychelles since October last year, with Austrian Airlines operating a non-stop weekly service from Vienna to Mahé.
Seychelles is set to get direct, non-stop air service with a third German-speaking country when Switzerland’s leisure airline, Edelweiss Air, begins once-weekly flights to the island nation in September this year.
The STB chief executive, Sherin Francis, said: "ITB being our first main trade fair of the year, gives us an opportunity to gauge how the year will unfold and have an idea of the market potential not only for the German territories but also the whole continent. This will surely help us to align our strategy and marketing plan for the rest of the year."
For the local trade partners, the enthusiasm shown by the trade representatives visiting the Seychelles’ stand shows how popular the destination is becoming.
One of the participants, Ash Behari from Coco de Mer Hotel on Praslin said: “Gauging from the appointments we are having, the feedback of the travel operators, their enthusiasm you are able to see how it has developed over the years and how it has motivated all of us to promote ultimately the destination and our businesses as well.”
“We have a beautiful stand this year, absolutely amazing space, smiles, colours and as somebody who has attended ITB for the past 24 years I feel exceptionally proud to sit on this stand and do business from here,” he added.
ITB Berlin is a must-attend event for tourism sector professionals, which attracts over 7000 exhibitors and some 170,000 visitors from 180 countries.
It is the perfect platform to showcase tourism destinations, services and products from across the globe and for trade experts and professionals to conduct meetings and form new partnerships.
Aside the travel trade, both Minister Loustau-Lalanne and Mrs Francis have also been conducting meetings with representatives of tourism related services, as well as interviews with various media.
Mrs Francis also represented Minister Loustau-Lalanne at the 8th UNWTO Silk Road Ministers Meeting, held on the sidelines of the ITB fair.
The meeting which focussed on the '2025 Silk Road Tourism Agenda' was attended by the organisation’s newly-appointed secretary-general, Zurab Pololikashvili.