Seychelles Promotes Alphonse Island Diving at Paris Underwater Show 2025
VICTORIA, Seychelles — Seychelles used its stand at the 26th Salon de la Plongée Sous-Marine in Paris earlier this month to promote Alphonse Island as one of the Indian Ocean’s premier diving destinations, an effort that organisers say drew strong interest from European divers and travel trade visitors.
The Paris expo, held from 9 to 12 January at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, was staffed by Maryse Williams, the Tourism Seychelles promotion officer for the French market, with the Seychelles stand flying the destination’s colours. Visitors to the stand received information on the best times to visit the islands, the range of accommodation available, and direct air access from European cities including Paris.
Michèle Marcelin, Alphonse Island’s representative on the French market, and Juho, a diving instructor on the atoll, ran a presentation on the island’s coral reefs and marine biodiversity, which they said remained remarkably preserved. The island, an hour’s flight from Mahé, is being positioned as an unspoilt alternative to busier Indian Ocean dive sites, an approach that Seychelles hopes will translate into more high-end bookings in 2025.
