Seychelles Tourism Sets 32 Percent Growth Target for Non-European Markets

VICTORIA, Seychelles — Principal secretary for tourism Sherin Francis has said that one of the department’s key targets for 2025 is to increase arrivals from non-European markets by at least 32 per cent, and that Seychelles is on track to achieve this. She was speaking on the sidelines of the department’s annual marketing meeting held yesterday at the Savoy Seychelles Resort and Spa.

Mrs Francis said the department is placing a lot of focus on the new flight connection with India, and is also actively pushing to secure another connection through Sichuan Airlines in China. ‘These two markets alone will significantly help us diversify beyond Europe,’ she added. Tourism officials noted that the diversification of source markets is crucial to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the industry, given the global tensions and economic uncertainty affecting traditional European markets.

Mrs Francis also spoke about the various challenges faced by the tourism sector, including the general level of cleanliness in the country. ‘One of the challenges we continue to face is the general level of cleanliness, as there is still a significant amount of littering despite various awareness campaigns. This is unfortunate, especially considering that we are a tourist destination. It negatively affects the image we project to visitors and undermines the efforts we make to promote Seychelles as a clean place,’ she said.