STB aims for record visitor arrivals in 2006 |07 December 2005

This was said by the chief executive officer of STB, Sylvestre Radegonde, at the closing ceremony on Monday of the annual STB tourism trade meeting held at the Berjaya Mahe Beach Resort at Port Glaud to map out the tourism trade marketing strategy for next year. It saw the participation of some 100 professionals from local tourism and overseas markets.

Mr Radegonde said that the priority of STB's marketing drive next year is to promote Seychelles in its entirety as an affordable destination for all visitors and to make sure that all accommodation, from the small self-catering guesthouses to the five-star hotels, are given the same importance in the campaign.

"Our aim is to steer away from the general misconception that Seychelles is just a five- star destination for the elite," Mr Radegonde said.

"The tourism industry has room for all kinds of tourism establishments. But at STB we feel that the true authentic Seychelles' experience can be better delivered by the small tourism establishments, more so if they are run by Seychellois," he added.

Hence, through the implementation of SEEP (Small Establishment Enhancement Programme), STB, he said, would next year continue to assist the small establishments (25 rooms or fewer) to improve their standards. Establishments with weaknesses identified by the inspectors will from now on receive the necessary assistance from SEEP to better their services, instead of being closed down.

The assistance will come mainly through workshops.

Mr Radegonde said the small establishments will be encouraged to improve on their standards to either meet minimum operation requirements locally or to raise their level even higher so that they could find a place among the best of the best, under the "Seychelles Secrets" portfolio, a new brand name being promoted abroad.

There are currently 22 small establishments which are in the Seychelles Secrets portfolio. STB has plans to increase this portfolio by 50% next year.

STB, Mr Radegonde said, would continue to emphasise on the quality of services and products offered, in order to ensure that what is advertised overseas is the true reality on the ground. In line with this, it has abolished the unit which was responsible to carry out field assessment of service in hotels and will instead introduce a mystery assessor system. The assessment, he said, would not be carried out by STB officers but by a group of people in the community.

In line with efforts to present the Seychellois flavour in overseas representation and marketing, the actors in the trade, he said, have also agreed to an "evolution back to colour." This means that as of next year all overseas promotional tools that were in black and white will regain their true Seychelles colours.

An internal exercise was also being carried out to review the branding of Seychelles. Mr Radegonde hinted that eventually we will be moving away from "As Pure As It Gets," and that simply "Seychelles" would stand out.

With the number of projects submitted to the Seychelles Investment Bureau (SIB), namely the development of hotels and small establishments, Mr Radegonde said by 2008 total employment in the tourism sector is to increase by 80% and the total number of beds by 43%.

In addition to Bazar Labrin and Bazar Ovan, STB hopes to develop an additional three local events with significant tourist appeal. There was an indication of a Lafoumbal on the way, but details of the activity are still on the drawing board.

Mr Radegonde has also confirmed that the Department of Finance has approved an additional R5 million on STB's budget for next year.

During the meeting the delegates also approved the marketing budget allocated for different countries, with the highest sum of around R2.8 million given to the office in UK.

STB has projected that this year will end with 130,000 visitors and France is expected to lead the market with an estimated 27,000 visitors.