Seychelles opens tourist office in UK 
by STB

In line with efforts to re-launch the Seychelles destination in the UK market, the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) is reopening a Seychelles Tourist Office in London on July 15, after an absence of almost two years.

This occasion will be marked by an opening ceremony at the Chandos House in London and will be attended by the Chief Executive Officer of STB, Alain St Ange, who will deliver the inaugural speech in the presence of UK’s trade partners and travel agents.

Seychelles has had a Regional Manager based in UK for the last eight months but working from an adhoc office. Now, a new location has been confirmed for the fully-fledged Seychelles Tourist Office which will work closely with tour operators and agents to build the profile of the destination, and consolidate its market share throughout the UK, Ireland and Scandinavian region.

The Regional Manager for the UK Office, Fiona Lane, and her two marketing assistants – Stephanie Medor and Lorraine Louis – will form an all-Seychellois team who will facilitate and boost the country’s tourism marketing activities in the UK.

More so, the office will support tour operators, hoteliers and other trade partners in their sales and marketing campaigns, and introduce initiatives for UK agents, including a comprehensive training programme in 2010 and 2011.

Speaking ahead of the official opening, Ms Lane said, “We will work with our traditional partners and expand into niche markets to reach the broadest audience possible.  Our focus is to maintain momentum within the established wedding, honeymoon and luxury markets, and raise awareness of the growing choice the islands can offer in both the affordable travel and special interest sectors.”

Mr St Ange on his part said that UK remains an important traditional market for us and one that should be producing good results.

“It is high time that we re-established ourselves on the UK market and we are now there to stay.  UK knows Seychelles well and what we need to do now is to translate knowledge of the destination into solid bookings for our destination,” he said.

To coincide with the re-opening of the office, a workshop has been organised for the UK travel agents right after the opening ceremony and cocktail reception on July 15.

The UK office will be opened Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm.  It will be closed on public holidays.

The contact details of the UK office are as follows:
Seychelles Tourist Office
73 Newman Street
London, W1T 3EJ
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 207 580 7759
E-mail: seychelles@uksto.co.uk