Eventful three days for Seychelles’ delegation led by the Tourism Minister at IFTM Top Resa 2019
The
41st edition of the IFTM Top Resa, held at the Porte de Versailles
exhibition center in Paris, kicked off on October 1st and came to an
end on Friday October 5th.
As the industry’s leading business-to-business
trade show, IFTM Top Resa is the only French event that brings together the whole
tourism sector, featuring multiple segments over four days including, Leisure,
Tourism, Business Travel, Group Tourism and Events.
The Trade show gathered over 34,000 professionals,
French and international buyers, tourism distribution and production professionals,
journalists and media representatives, influencers, students and officials who
all came to connect with the 1,700 exhibitors. Exhibitors included tourism
boards, airlines, hotel groups, technology companies and startups.
The
Seychelles delegation was led by Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports
and Marine, Mr Didier Dogley, who was present at the Seychelles stand
for the opening of the annual tourism trade fair.
French
travel agents and press expressed immense interest in the Seychelles as a
holiday destination, keeping the destination’s stand occupied during the first
three days of the IFTM Top Resa tourism fair.
The Seychelles stand consisted of the Seychelles
Tourism Board team, accompanied by seven trade partners.
Trade partners and representatives included: 7°
South – Corinne Delpech; Masons Travel – Alan Masons and Paul Lebon; Creole
Travel Services – Guillaume Albert and Stephanie Marie; Avani Barbarons Seychelles
Resorts – Bertrand Moussa; Banyan Tree Seychelles – Marie Gougeon; Coral Strand
Hotel and Savoy Resort & Spa – Ekaterina Gritsenko; and Hilton Seychelles –
Devi Pentamah.
The Seychelles Tourism Board was represented by its
Chief Executive, Mrs. Sherin Francis; STB’s Regional Director for Europe, Mrs.
Bernadette Willemin; Marketing Executives from the STB France office, Jennifer
Dupuy, Myra Fanchette and Valerie Payet; as well as Marketing Executive from
the STB Head Office, Christina Cecile.
Mrs. Francis said: “This year’s IFTM TOP RESA was once
again an opportunity to further strengthen our relationship with our French
partners. We are happy that we have their renewed commitment to keep on growing
this market further. Therefore, we are looking forward to another fruitful year
of collaboration.”
Minister Dogley and Mrs. Francis used this
opportunity to conduct various meetings with travel trade professionals and
give interviews to some high-profile media.
A press conference, with the presence of
approximately a dozen journalists, was organised on the second day of the trade
show. The delegation updated the media on the Seychelles tourism development,
also on the 250 years Seychelles celebration plan. A detailed exposé about the
country’s conservation environmental protection initiatives, including the Blue
Economy and Blue Bond, was also presented.
The
IFTM Top Resa is the turning point of the tourism season, coinciding with the
launch of the tour operators’ winter brochures and various promotional
campaigns, by different industry players.
STB’s
Regional Director for Europe, Mrs. Bernadette Willemin says IFTM Top Resa has
once again fulfilled its role as one of the world’s major tourism trade fairs,
both in terms of the number of visitors and exhibitors alike.
“Its
main role as a forum for travel trade professionals has proven, once again,
very fruitful, enabling participants to renew contacts and meet with new interlocutors,
discover or re-discover new tourism products and services,” said Mrs. Willemin.
“At
the same time, it must be underscored that stiff competition still
characterizes IFTM Top Resa and it is the presence therein that a given
destination displays its assets to keep its market share, if not increasing
it,” she added.
The
French market is a significant one for the Seychelles, being the second leading
market after Germany. The Seychelles Islands is still a favourite and safe
destination for French visitors, as seen by the attention the Seychelles stand
received during the Trade Fair.
