Demand for the Seychelles as a holiday destination continues to grow. This is reflected in the figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), with 2 35 640 visitors entering the country since January to September 7.
The current figure shows an increase of 1%, with 223 887 visitors recorded, compared with the number of visitors for the same period last year.
The European market leads Seychelles tourism growth, as NBS recorded a 7% increase compared with the same period in 2017.
According to the record from the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS), the cumulative earnings for quarter one and two (January to June 2018), increased by Seychellois Rupee 811 000 (€51 200), equivalent to an increase of 27% compared with the same period last year.
Based on the figures released by the NBS, out of the European countries, Germany was the top-performing market, with 34 104 arrivals since January, closely followed by France with 29 646 visitors.
Other European countries also showed significant growth in terms of arrivals, with Austria showing an increase of 41%, the UK and Northern Ireland were up by 16%, and Italy grew by 3%.
Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive, Sherin Francis, stressed that the STB was working hard in collaboration with other partners. She added that STB’s focus was to increase the performance of the other key markets, as well as to market Seychelles as an eco-friendly destination.
Speaking on the island’s increase in arrivals, Francis said: “I believe it’s with the concerted efforts of all parties within the industry that we have been able to achieve this growth in tourism earning. For a small country like Seychelles, where we are more and more placing emphasis on conservation, it is really important that we are able to get more out of each tourist visiting our shores, instead of only relying on an increase in the tourism arrival numbers,” said Francis.
The three markets dragging down Seychelles’ arrivals average are the United Arab Emirates, Russia and South Africa, according to Francis. “All three markets have had their share of challenges, some of which we have been able to work through, while others may persist until the end of the year. Faced with these challenges, I am satisfied that we have been able to at least maintain our last year’s performance, where we experienced an outstanding growth. For the moment, the global forward booking trend is not looking negative, and we can expect to at least maintain the performance for the rest of the year.”
Arrivals to the Seychelles are expected to rise with Air Seychelles increasing frequencies between Seychelles and Johannesburg to six flights a week and Edelweiss to start servicing the island this September.
