Italy gets a taste of Seychelles in a series of roadshows across the country |15 December 2021
A scene from one of the roadshows
Autumn is the season to dream a tropical holiday in warmer climes and Italian travel agents were offered a foretaste of what the Seychelles can offer as the Tourism Seychelles representative for the Italian market, Danielle Di Gianvito, toured different cities across Italy to showcase Seychelles as the perfect autumnal and winter hideaway and update the trade on the new safety measures and travel corridors.
The first event was Travel Open Day Roadshow that touched three cities – Florence, Brescia and Verona – on November 4, 16 and 17 respectively, where the agents were able to get updates on new products and the latest travel developments, benefiting also from a short training on how to sell the destination.
The Travel Open Day, a well-known B2B itinerant event in Italy and abroad which attracts international tourism industry operators, has been an important reference point in the Italian tourism market for years. It is an opportunity to meet tourism operators and make agreements in professional and prestigious environments, both in small and large cities. Over the years, the Travel Open Days have reached 10,000 travel agents in 300 events. The individual events, lasting an entire day or half day, are organised in exclusive, highly functional locations in cities with a large engagement area.
The event in Florence took place in an unusual and stunning location, Hard Rock Café in the city centre, while the events of Brescia and Verona took place at the prestigious five star Hotel Vittoria and Hotel Leon D’Oro. Agent turnout was excellent and the events were all successful, indications of positive vibe and outlook after almost two years of shutdown in the tourism field.
The second event was Travelexpo Roadshow, a series of 7 workshops taking place over four days from November 30 to December 3, in all the main cities in Sicily – Catania, Enna, Siracusa, Palermo, Ragusa, Agrigento, Trapani conveying the travel proposals through the loyal network of Sicilian travel agencies.
Travelexpo Roadshow follows a well-established itinerant formula, able to optimize the promotion of destination and tourism products to the Sicilian trade. Alongside other exhibitors such as destinations, hotel partners, tour operators and airlines, Tourism Seychelles illustrated the islands’ tropical beauty, targeting potential travel agents to reach holidaymakers in the winter and festive season.
After the events, travel agencies who attended the workshops took part in a co-marketing consumer project, coordinated and integrated to encourage the promotion and marketing of travel offers and destinations to the final consumers by opening their doors on Sunday, December 5 to stimulate the market close to the Christmas holidays.
Seychelles offers a stress-free travel experience thanks to the tourism corridors opened by the Italian government in September 2021, without the hassle of having to quarantine upon return.
Fourth on the visitor arrivals leader board in 2019 when it generated 27,289 visitors, Italy, traditionally a top source market for Seychelles, is showing the first signs of recovery with a total of 2,069 visitors recorded for the year as at the end of November 2021.
Press release from Tourism Seychelles