STB brings paradise to the 2020 New York Times Travel Show |09 March 2020
Mr Germain at the 2020 New York Times Travel Show (Photo source: STB News Bureau)
On its mission to charm North American visitors, the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) took part in the New York Times Travel Show from Friday February 24 to Sunday February 26, 2020 at the Jacob K Javits Convention Center in New York City.
The Travel Show united over 175 countries including Seychelles under one roof where cultural and destination knowledge was passed on to over 35,000 attendees including tourism professionals and holidaymakers.
Taking full advantage of media, travel trade and consumer presence during the exhibition, David Germain, the STB regional director for Africa and the Americas, met up with these key industry players of the North American market.
These included the press and airlines such as Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines, whose North American agents will be hosted in the Seychelles for a familiarisation trip in the coming months.
The show’s global platform ideally gave STB the opportunity to perform its mandate of increasing the destination’s visibility and awareness of its offerings to the North American market. Especially with greater accessibility to the destination through Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Emphasising on the importance of the country’s participation, Mr Germain said “this is the 7th time that the Seychelles participated at the New York Times Travel Show, an exhibition which brings together important African travel specialists in search of product and destination information about Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. It is important to be present to consistently promote our islands in North America”.
The Seychelles’ dedicated stand visibly portrayed the exotic flora and fauna of the islands as well as its turquoise waters and vibrant marine life, catching the eyes of many visitors.
The STB staff present at the stand provided support and assitance to the travel trade to sell the destination on their end while enticing customers to experience the island life for themselves.
Visitors were captivated by the diverse activities of the tropical paradise – from diving with exquisite sea creatures and water sports to culinary experiences and discovering the creole culture through the arts.
The STB continuously increases the destination’s presence through participating in such travel fairs and conducting workshops for local travel and tourism partners in this market.
STB News Bureau