Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) recently held its annual GCC Roadshow virtually, with nearly 100 trade partners from the GCC and several local partners from Seychelles signing up to join the event for a productive day of meetings.

On the agenda, familiarisation and learning about the Seychelles Islands with the STB team including the Chief Executive, Sherin Francis, the Director for the UAE, Stephanie Lablache and the STB representative in Dubai, Ahmed Fathallah present virtually.

A strong delegation from the local trade attended comprising of representatives from Masons Travel, Creole Travel Services, 7 Degree South, Summer Rain Tours and J’adore Seychelles on behalf of the Tour Operators and the hotel properties including North Island, Six Senses Zil Pasyon, Hilton Seychelles, Constance Hotels and Resorts, Eden Bleu, Mango House Seychelles and L’Escale Resort Marina and Spa, completed the Seychelles delegation.

Ahmed Fathallah kicked off the online event, stating: “We always look forward to welcoming guests from the GCC to the beautiful islands. We totally understand that 2020 has not been a pleasant year for all of us, but we are positive that things will get better very soon. And we are sure that everyone will agree that if we put all our hands together, we can make it happen.”

Sherin Francis said: “As we all know, 2020 has been a hard year for all of us, especially, us who work in the tourism industry. 2021 does not look any easier. But however, we do have some optimism. The news of the vaccine is actually a source of a lot of optimism across the world, and we are hopeful that with this positive development, we will start seeing the travel industry to make a comeback.”

Francis also mentioned the destination’s optimism and measures established to protect both travellers and locals. She mentioned that the island paradise is welcoming vaccinated guests to their shores without the need for quarantine as well as non-vaccinated visitors who will have to adhere to additional measures.

Following the welcome from the STB Team, buyers and exhibitors proceeded to conduct one on one meetings where they updated one another with the conditions of the market, and current safety protocols implemented by local stakeholders in Seychelles.

Additionally, GCC trade partners were familiarised with the islands through product video presentations, giving them a deeper insight into what Seychelles has to offer, from accommodations to activities, something that will be especially useful as Seychelles starts to welcome more guests during the year.

As the destination’s Covid-19 immunization programme is underway, STB and its team continue to take innovative approaches and find various methods to keep on fostering and nurturing ties with trade partners and consumers across the GCC, an STB statement said.