The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) has successfully conducted a number of destination training sessions in the Indian cities of Surat and Nagpur, as part of its goal to strengthen trade and tourism relations with India.

The sessions targeted a new group of tour operators with the potential to market the Seychelles as a tourist destination, equipping them with information about the island, and included a presentation and a number of co-ordinated networking sessions.

Lubaina Sheerazi, COO of Blue Square Consultants, STB’s office in India, said: “The workshop format is a good method of engaging many new and upcoming agents in virtually any populous city. It gives a standard platform to obtain support and information from the tourism board. Limiting the presentation to around 30 companies ensures…interaction between your STB representatives and invited operators, and results in more serious business meetings between [representatives]. Seychelles is currently [a] destination for target audiences beyond honeymooners and metro cities, and penetration into tier-two cities through this format offers a larger stage to initiate and nurture quality B2B interaction.’

Seychelles has seen solid growth in inbound tourism from India, which is its sixth top source market.  Through the training, the STB hopes to see a rise in traffic from the two Indian cities.