Irish TV series in film shoot across islands |07 October 2006

Now in its ninth season, No Frontiers is a 13-part prime time travel series airing on Ireland’s main television station, and features three different destinations in each show. The feature on Seychelles will bring first-hand footage of the archipelago to some 450,000 - 500,000 Irish viewers per week, representing a 35 percent audience share.

In the context of tourism, Ireland has typically been classified under the United Kingdom with a limited marketing budget, but in a bid to spur growth in this largely untapped market, the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) is sourcing additional funds to assist for 2007 and is making a strong push to generate more interest from both the Irish travel trade and consumers.

“This is just one region that holds so much business potential and interest,” said Nathalie Savy, STB’s marketing manager for the UK and Ireland. “From a recent visit to our Irish trade partners, the message received was that our neighbouring Indian Ocean destinations do so well in this market and Seychelles could do the same. We are working very closely with partners in Ireland to develop initiatives and generate more media exposure similar to that of No Frontiers, to stimulate awareness and continue to educate the Irish public on our destination.”

Visitor numbers to Seychelles from Ireland are relatively low in comparison to some of the core European markets, but it is the highest yield market out of the direct flight from London, and the figures have been growing steadily.

Some 300 Irish visitors were recorded in 2004, 385 in 2005 and nearly 300 as of August of this year. STB will be targeting at least 600 arrivals from Ireland in 2007.