Seychelles seeks to expand tourism and fight piracy

Seychelles is looking to expand it reach in Singapore by treating representatives from four travel agents from Singapore to some of the best food, attractions, accommodation and transport that the Seychelles has to offer. The travel agencies represented included Chan Brothers, HIS, Ramesh Travel and Eco Adventures. Their tour leader was from Air Seychelles.

To kick start the tour, the representatives got a taste of what it’s like to fly in both economy and business class on Air Seychelles. They visited the three major islands: Mahè, Praslin, and La Digue and enjoyed the most recommended activities on each, including Sunset Beach, Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort and Casino and Le Meridien Fisherman’s Cove. After being wined and dined (with delicious Creole cuisine) to the extreme it’s not surprising to hear that the group was “blown away” by the experience. Tourism authorities now hope that that experience will translate into more flights booked and rooms reserved.

Seychelles’ drive to boost tourism from Asian markets received a boost from various international communities, especially in the Commonwealth, which have joined forces to combat the scourge of piracy. Seychelles President Michel has commended Commonwealth countries like Australia for taking the matter seriously enough to call for a counter-piracy conference, which will be held in Perth, Australia, next year.

President Michel has said: “The coast states of the Indian Ocean need more support – both in terms of maritime assets, in terms of prisons, and in terms of legislative and human resource capacity building. These coastal states are in the majority Commonwealth states- and we salute the efforts of our partners: Mauritius, Kenya, Tanzania, The Maldives, and Mozambique. We also thank the government of India for its proactive role in helping our Coast Guard and training our military for appropriate response to piracy at sea. We believe the Commonwealth is ideally situated to bring more support to the member states to provide technical assistance for legal framework for prosecuting pirates.”

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.