Tourism Seychelles successfully completed an official visit to Delhi and Mumbai to reaffirm India’s potential as a key market in the global tourism strategy.
The director-general for Destination Marketing, Bernadette Willemin, visited India from July 17 to 23, 2022 with a mission to review the Indian market, share valuable information, and converse with prominent travel trade partners and media personnel representing both B2B and B2C segments.
Seychelles has carved a niche in the outbound market over the years and shares a prime association with India. Tourism Seychelles is implementing fundamental marketing strategies to achieve pre-pandemic visitor numbers from the country. The long-term approach is to build interest and stimulate consumers’ awareness of the Seychelles Islands by emphasising the uniqueness of the destination as its brand image.
“India has always been and continues to be a significant market for us. We hope to expand our presence to reach a wider range of visitors. The purpose of the visit was to directly interact with the distribution system, the travel trade, and the media because it is imperative that they are familiar with our destination and offerings. We see India as a promising potential market that has significantly grown over time. The Indian traveller falls under a category of visitors that is evolving quickly and wants to be involved in various ways. We recognise and appreciate the demand from India and are working intensely to meet it,” stated Mrs Willemin.
Tourism Seychelles intends to broaden its reach and tap into the outbound market beyond India’s metro cities by catering to intrepid travellers emerging from the tier 2 and tier 3 markets who are looking for one-of-a-kind travel experiences. The overarching idea is to target different communities, such as honeymooners, nature lovers, birders, luxury travellers, leisure holiday seekers, adventurers, and families. Over the years, Seychelles has seen an increase in Indian visitors, ranking India as one of the top six source markets.
Mrs Willemin adds, “We had seen a significant increase in arrivals from India prior to the pandemic, and we look forward to accelerating our efforts to maintain the momentum and fully unlock the potential of travellers. We are confident that the market will see a quick turnaround in good time with strategic trade partnerships, joint promotions, roadshows, workshops, and collaborations backed by robust PR and marketing campaigns.”
Source: Seychelles Nation