Seychelles Tourism was again present this year at the 29th edition of IBTM Trade Fair held in the capital city of Catalonia, Barcelona to showcase to the world the diversified product offers for the MICE market segment and also let them know that the Seychelles islands are ready and have the right infrastructure in place to receive customers from the meetings, events, conference, incentives and business travel industry. Through highly-targeted pre-scheduled appointments, the delegation members had the opportunity to connect with the right buyers from different parts of the world, build relations and develop business.
The Seychelles delegation to IBTM was headed by Bernadette Willemin, the Seychelles Tourism Board’s Director for Europe based in Paris. She was accompanied by Eric Renard and Stephanie Marie from the Destination Management Company, Creole Travel Services and hotelier Mourad Essafi from the Banyan Tree Seychelles.
“Incentives and Conferencing in Seychelles is now a real possibility,” said Bernadette Willemin at the IBTM Trade Fair. “It is thus important that the Seychelles Tourism is present at such key trade shows such as IBTM World to keep our islands top of mind with qualified international buyers and also provides our industry partners with a platform to build relationships and convert business.”
The Seychelles islands have benefited from marked increase in air access capacity and only this year we have had two new airlines servicing our destinations whilst some existing ones increasing their flight frequencies. On the home ground, more hotels are today equipped with conference facilities and modern technology to accommodate for meetings and conferencing. All the ingredients are there for the Seychelles Islands to secure extra business.
The opportunity was thus timely for Creole Travel Service and Banyan Tree Seychelles Hotel, to use the IBTM trade fair platform to present their respective offers for meetings and events, gain valuable sales leads and establish themselves as a key player in the industry.
Seychelles is a founding member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP).
