Earlier this year Seychelles Tourism Board presented its annual Marketing Strategy for 2013 to private sector trade members and emphasised on their focus on new emerging markets such as India. “The Seychelles Tourism Board Global Strategy vision is to achieve for Seychelles the status of the most desirable island destination on the market offering the unique, Seychellois way of life, at the right price, and within a sustainable eco-friendly environment,” said Elsia Grandcourt, the Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Tourism Board.
She further revealed that the targets set for next year, including the strategic priorities have been identified: Brand Awareness, Niche Market Development, Education, Product Delivery of Market Needs, Events Positioning, Market Segment, E-Strategy and Research. “By using are strategic priorities we plan to target all our source markets in a different way. Every individual travelling abroad wats different experiences and we want to cater to this demand. We understand that Seychelles will never be a mass tourist destination but that is our USP, we are not looking at the quantity but we are looking at attracting quality tourists into our destination,” she said adding that particularly in new and emerging markets the tourism board wants to establish Seychelles as a high end niche destination.
In 2012 the island welcomed over 2,08,034 tourists which is a 5 per cent increase as compared to 2011. “India plays a very small role in these visitor arrivals. First three months of 2013 saw over 700+ visitor arrivals from India which is almost the similar number as last year during the same period. India saw a 2 per cent increase in visitor arrivals in 2012 as compared to 2011. India holds a lot of potential and we want tap the high end travellers in India who want to go to an unexplored destination,” said Grandcourt.
Commenting on the participation of Seychelles Tourism Board at SATTE 2013, Grandcourt said, “Our main objective behind participating at SATTE was to re-enter the India market and show our presence to the travel trade in India. Few years ago we were present in the market but we couldn’t achieve the results that we desired. Moving forward we are extremely optimistic about this market.SATTE proved to be a great platform and helped us connect with the Indian travel trade.”
To strengthen their presence in India the tourism board is in the advanced stages of finalising a representation office in India. “In January we had announced that we are looking at appointing an India Representation office for Seychelles and since then we have had a lot of meeting and discussions with various players on the same. We are now on the verge of signing the deal and very soon announcing it to the world,” she said.
The Seychelles Tourism Board was also present at the recent TAFI Convention; Grandcourt believes it was a great opportunity to receive firsthand knowledge from the agents on how a n Indian traveller thinks. “We were very pleased with the Indian delegation and we had a lot of discussion with the TAFI Committee and there is a very high possibility of us hosting the TAFI Convention in the coming years.
To further raise visitor numbers, the Seychelles Tourism Board will continue to develop and maintain an authentic, dynamic and sustainable product at home, based on professionalism and value for money, innovation, and cost effective marketing campaigns throughout core and emerging markets.
