The Seychelles International airport, the Praslin Airport and the La Digue Tourism Office near the Jetty witnessed the effervescence of a beehive this Thursday September 2018 as Seychelles joins the world to mark the celebrations of the World Tourism Day.
A series of activities coordinated by the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) offices have been organised for the day on the three main arrival points of the different Islands.
Visitors disembarking on the Seychelles Shores have been treated to a warm welcome with traditional live music imbued of Creole touch.
On Mahé, the activities undertaken by the STB were conducted in conjunction with the Department for Tourism, the Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Foundation (SSTF), the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association (SHTA) and the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA).
The customary welcome treat to passengers disembarking was honoured by the presence of Principal Secretary for Tourism; Mrs. Anne Lafortune and STB Deputy Chief Executive; Ms. Jenifer Sinon and Director for Trade & Visitor Services Section; Ms. Selma Magnan.
Commenting on the day’s special welcome event, Ms. Jenifer Sinon, STB Deputy Chief Executive mentioned STB’s commitment to make the celebrations meaningful by not only greeting our guests but also showing the industry’s pledge to making Seychelles a sustainable destination.
“The World Tourism Day is a day for us all to reflect on how to keep our destination relevant not only in providing the best services but also in contributing towards a greener Seychelles,” said Ms. Sinon.
The delegation was accompanied by members from the STB Trade and Visitor’s Services Section, Digital Marketing and News Bureau team, SSTF representatives Diana Körner and Rosetta Alcindor and finally the SCAA PR team, Customer Service officers and Social Media Specialist.
The meaning of the annual commemoration was heightened with the implementation of the ecological campaign Pristine Seychelles. The campaign spearheaded by the SSTF, is a call to all tourism stakeholders to promote the three pillars of sustainability, which are environment, Creole culture and local economy amongst tourists and locals.
Talking about the SSTF’s participation to the event SSTF representatives Diana Körner and Rosetta Alcindor both mentioned their happiness to have been able to contribute towards sensitizing tourists about protecting Seychelles’ environment, learning about the Creole Culture and supporting the local economy as part of the Pristine Seychelles campaign.
“The SSTF team is very passionate about the Pristine Seychelles Campaign. The special welcome at the airport today was a great experience to be part of. It was great to see the smiles on the tourists’ faces when they were welcomed by Creole music and received a Pristine Seychelles pin. We hope that this is the starting point to communicating the Pristine Seychelles messages throughout the industry!
The local civil aviation authorities, SCAA also took the opportunity to bring forward their commitment to the conservationism by creating awareness about their Eco Leap campaign launched in 2015.
“The SCAA is pleased that the STB and SSTF chose Seychelles International Airport to commemorate International Tourism day with the launching of the Pristine Seychelles Campaign, because of the need to strengthen efforts to preserve the environment, importantly so, in light of the expected continuous growth of air transport activities in Seychelles and globally,” Mr. Gilbert Faure, SCAA Chief Executive.
As part of their contribution to the world Tourism Day, the STB offices on Praslin and La Digue have extended their Welcome celebrations to a half day activity on both Islands.
