Tourism Seychelles captures Italian market at TTG Travel Experience |02 November 2019

Photo montage showing Seychelles’ participation at the TTG Travel Experience

The Italian Exhibition Group gave the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) and its trade partners exposure to three international exhibitions dedicated to the travel industry from October 9 to 11, 2019 at the Rimini Expo Centre.

The event brought together the 56th TTG Travel Experience, 68th SIA Hospitality Design and 37th SUN Beach & Outdoor Style, exhibitions which gave the delegation from Seychelles significant insights into the Italian market as well as other tourism related topics.

The delegation from the small island nation was headed by the STB chief executive, Sherin Francis, and comprised the director for Italy, Turkey, Israel, Greece and the Mediterranean, Monette Rose and two STB marketing executives, Rolira Young from the head office and Yasmine Pocetti based in Rome.

The Seychelles trade partners present in Italy were hotel representatives Bertrand Moussa with the Avani Barbarons Seychelles Resort team, Wendy Tan from Berjaya Resorts Seychelles, Serena Di Fiore on behalf of Hilton Hilton Seychelles Resorts and Anastasia Zelkova from Savoy Resort & Spa Seychelles.

On the DMC team were 7° South represented by Anna Butler Payette and Amanda Lang from Creole Travel Services.

This year’s event saw a significant international presence with representatives from 130 destinations including Seychelles and industry players from 85 countries worldwide.

The Seychelles stand presented vibrant displays of island scenery, with its delegation of STB officers, hotels and DMCs.

A special presentation organised on the first day gave the Seychelles islands more visibility at this event, showcasing the destination’s products to the international delegations present.

Mrs Francis seized the opportunity to update the Italian tourism sector on recent developments and upcoming events in Seychelles, such as 250th Anniversary celebrations and the increased national focus on sustainable tourism.

A series of business-to-business meetings with tour operators and media were also held at the stand, giving the delegation the chance to brainstorm ideas and discuss upcoming projects.

Mentioning the presence of the STB at the trio-event in Italy, Mrs Rose mentioned the prominence of the events and the evident increase in exposure for Seychelles and its participating partners.

“We are very satisfied on how the fair went, with an 11% increase on visitors, this is a sign that the Italian market is still very active and interested in Seychelles, one of the top tropical destinations in the Italian holiday dreams. TTG is the true gateway to the Italian tourism market,” said Mrs Rose when commenting on the exhibition.

She further mentioned that the TTG Travel Experience contributes importantly to the benefit of the tourism industry players in the Seychelles as it is a platform to not only market the destination, but also increase knowledge on the recent developments within the Italian trade.

During this year, a special project was dedicated to the main African Tourism Boards, uniting them all under one village at the trade fair.