Linking Seychelles to France

The Seychelles Minister for Home Affairs and Transport, Joel Morgan, and the Minister Responsible for Tourism & Culture, Alain St.Ange, are jointly leading a tourism trade delegation for an industry m

The Seychelles Minister for Home Affairs and Transport, Joel Morgan, and the Minister Responsible for Tourism & Culture, Alain St.Ange, are jointly leading a tourism trade delegation for an industry meeting in Paris on May 21, 2012.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Elsia Grandcourt, and other airline professionals from Seychelles are also in Paris for the meeting, and they will be joined by the Seychelles Tourism Boardโ€™s European Director, Bernadette Willemin, and some forty French tour operators and airlines linking Seychelles to France. The meeting comes at an opportune time, when French market, ranked as Seychelles top core market is down by 20 percent as a result of non-direct flights from France to the islands.

The Director of the European market, Bernadette Willemin, said that โ€œthe second blow to the French market resulted from Air Australโ€™s decision to not to go ahead with its proposal to connect France to Seychelles and La Reunion.

The Seychelles Tourism Boardโ€™s Paris Office felt that it was important to re-assure the French trade that Seychelles is very much interested in this market and that consolidating the French market remained one of the islandsโ€™ top priority.

The presence of the two Seychelles ministers, representing transport and tourism spells out the importance of the French market for Seychelles. โ€œOur presence will help reinforce the work being done by our Paris Office in the market, and it is our hope that the tourism trade meeting we are holding in Paris will help to regain back our market share,โ€ Minister Alain St.Ange said as he left Seychelles.

โ€œToday, the market is adjusting to the new air transport network available for travels to Seychelles, but there is still need for the French trade to hear from the Seychelles tourism authority that we care and we appreciate their work, as well as continue to help and assist them in achieving our common goal,โ€ said Bernadette Willemin.

Talking about the Paris meeting, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism & Culture said the meeting with French tour operators and the airlines professionals is to also keep them abreast of the latest tourism development in Seychelles.

A second meeting will the French media is also planned for Monday for the Seychelles ministers.

Seychelles is a founding member of the International Council of Tourism Partners (ICTP) www.tourismpartners.org .

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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