Seychelles recently participated in the 44th edition of the International & French Travel Market (IFTM) Top Resa 2022, France’s leading international trade fair dedicated to tourism.
The trade fair took place at the Porte de Versailles in the French capital Paris, from 20th to 22nd September. Leading the Seychelles delegation was the Principal Secretary for Tourism, Mrs Sherin Francis, accompanied by the Director General Marketing for Tourism, Bernadette Willemin, Tourism Seychelles’ Senior Marketing Executive for France & Benelux, Ms Jennifer Dupuy and Marketing Executive Christina Cecile.
The local travel trade was represented by Mr Guillaume Albert, Ms Melissa Quatre and Mrs Dorothèe Delavallade from Creole Travel Services; Mr Leonard Alvis, Ms Lucy Jean Louis and Mr Olivier Larue from Mason’s Travel; Mrs Stéphanie Mekdachi from 7° South; and Mrs Devi Pentamah from Hilton Seychelles and Mango House Seychelles Hotels.
Tourism Seychelles’ DG Marketing, Mrs Bernadette Willemin, said that the trade fair was a great opportunity to reveal our newly refreshed branding as well as showcase the island’s product to the travel trade and the press, bringing forward the different experiences on offer for the visitors.
“Trade fairs such as IFTM Top Resa are valuable tools for almost any type of business. It allows one to create sales leads and provides the opportunity to convert interest into a qualified lead. It is also a valuable networking opportunity for people and businesses from the industry, not forgetting that it helps create awareness about our business and brand. During the three days, we have had the chance to network, discuss and exchange with our partners on means and ways to continue increasing our common business,” said Mrs Willemin.
Meetings were also held with all of Seychelles’ tour operators and the different airlines flying to the destination, joined by the press and media.
The PS for Tourism, Mrs Sherin Francis, expressed her satisfaction with the outcome of this year’s edition of the trade fair.
“During the three days, we observed an increased interest in the destination. We were very pleased to see our French trade partners introducing new ideas to promote the Seychelles Islands. We hope to see more collaboration and partnership from Seychelles’ tourism industry at large to continue to grow the market, which is already showing positive signs of improvement in terms of arrival figures,” added PS Francis.
France has always been one of the leading markets for Seychelles in terms of visitor numbers. So far in 2022, Seychelles has received 31 995 visitors, which is 79% higher than the 2021 figures for the same period.
Seychelles has been a loyal participant of IFTM Top Resa over the years. It is a platform that allows business-to-business meetings, negotiations and networking between French and international companies and the intermediaries for tourist products. It presents trade partners with the opportunity to understand the French market, see how it is developing, and foresee trends.
