Tourism Seychelles and the nationwide airline, Air Seychelles, hosted the first-ever vacation spot workshops in Kazakhstan final week.

This workshop was carried out in a bid to drive up enterprise from that market now that there are direct flights linking the 2 international locations.

Air Seychelles launched direct flights to the town of Almaty in December 2022, which can proceed till the top of the winter schedule in March. Flights will resume once more in June.

The 2 workshops have been held within the cities of Almaty and Astana, as ten firms from the native commerce hit the highway in a roadshow format to satisfy present and new sellers.

The businesses taking part alongside Tourism Seychelles and Air Seychelles have been native Vacation spot Administration Corporations (DMCs) Creole Journey Companies, Mason’s Journey, 7° South, Luxe Voyages, Summer time Rain Excursions, SilverPearls Excursions and Travels, in addition to lodge companions Kempinski Seychelles Resort, Savoy Seychelles Resort and Spa, Story Seychelles and Anantara Maia Seychelles.

The primary a part of the occasions was the workshop format, whereby every firm had a desk to current its services or products. They have been in a position to set up contacts and meet new brokers they didn’t have entry to beforehand.

For many of them, it was their first-time assembly commerce companions from Seychelles on a 1-to-1 foundation, and there was a excessive degree of curiosity to be taught extra in regards to the vacation spot and what it provides.

The workshops additionally supplied additional networking alternatives for each commerce companions and brokers throughout dinner, which included shows and video screenings of the completely different merchandise.

You will need to word that Kazakhstan is a reasonably new market for almost all of the native commerce.

Though it has progressively produced small numbers of holiday makers to Seychelles through the years, it had not been a robust sufficient supply marketplace for any firm.

Now, with the brand new direct flights, which can lengthen the connections out and in of Almaty past June, there are extra prospects to develop the market and extra alternatives to drive up gross sales.

Tourism Seychelles’ Director for Russia, CIS and Japanese Europe, Lena Hoareau, who led Seychelles’ delegation in Kazakhstan, mentioned the workshops enabled the commerce companions to know this ‘new’ rising market higher.

“As all new markets, Kazakhstan has its personal market specifics.”

“And the workshops have been meant to provide us an perception into their vacationers and their expectations. For instance, we have been additionally in a position to appraise the extent of the language barrier and concluded that not each Kazakhstani who would disembark in Seychelles would be capable to talk fluently in English.

“We additionally learnt a bit about their pursuits via their questions on the tables and thru observing the issues that drew their consideration and the type of merchandise that piqued their curiosity. Undoubtedly, all receiving DMCs and motels now higher perceive what to anticipate in anticipation of the arrival of a Kazakhstani visitor. Some are, after all, already within the know as a result of they’ve been getting purchasers from that market, however in preparation for a rise in vacationers from Kazakhstan this 12 months, because of the extension of the direct flights, we will all be higher ready to satisfy their expectations,” she mentioned.

Seychelles and Kazakhstan signed a historic aviation settlement to foster new tourism hyperlinks in October 2022. The air providers settlement permits airways to function direct flights between Mahe and Kazakhstan.

Since January 1 to the week ending on February 12, 830 Kazakhstani vacationers have visited Seychelles, of which 98 % have travelled on the Air Seychelles flight. A dozen different passengers with Uzbek passports additionally flew to Almaty to attach with the Air Seychelles flight. Altogether, Air Seychelles carried 849 passengers for this era.