Seychelles revamps tourism plan to maintain momentum after royal honeymoon

The Seychelles’ Islands are almost synonymous with honeymoons. For decades newlyweds from all over the world have flocked to the white beaches and topaz waters to celebrate their love. Even royalty honeymoons at the Seychelles.

Seychelles tourism recently received quite a boost when Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge celebrated their honeymoon there. As one would imagine, interest in holiday tours to the Seychelles increased significantly after it was announced as the royal honeymoon destination.

According to TripAdvisor, searches for Seychelles holiday related information increased by 300% in two days. Thousands of people swarmed the internet and picked up their phones to find out about Seychelles travel packages, air fares, and accommodation options.

The heightened interest in the islands has been maintained by two more significant events:

1. Seychelles tourism celebrated its 40^th year on 4 July. At the celebrations the chief executive of the tourism board, Alain St Ange, revealed a “green paper” or draft paper for the Seychelles’ Master Plan for Tourism. For the past 40 years the board has worked hard to increase the Seychelles’ attraction as a destination. It has been very successful but to ensure that momentum is not only maintained but increased, the green paper aims to concentrate efforts over the next five years.
   

   Seychelle holidays, La Digue Islands

2. Two of the Seychelle’s most prestigious hotels have been nominated for the international Villegiature Awards in the Grand Prix category of the Best Island Hotels for 2011. The Denis Island and Frégate Island Private will face off against other luxury hotels from Mauritius, Indonesia and Malaysia. The winners will be announced on 14 November.

But perhaps one of the biggest attractions of a holiday in the Seychelles is that you don’t have to be royalty to feel like royalty.