Visitor arrivals into the Seychelles for 2017 surpassed predictions made by the Seychelles Tourism Board, setting a new record of nearly 350,000 visitors.
South African visitor arrivals to the Seychelles has increased by 15% year on year for the year ending 2017, ranking the country as the sixth best source market for the island destination.
According to the latest statistics released by the Seychelles Tourism Board, 2017 saw a total of 14,203 visit the Seychelles, compared to 12,354 visitors in 2016.
According to David Germain, Director – South Africa & The Americas Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), arrivals captured from South Africa as a source market stood at 12 039 in the first week of December, compared to 10 443 at the same time last year.
“Throughout 2017, Seychelles as a choice destination for South African travellers gained even more traction through new exposure channels, specifically TV, with the broadcast of Tropica Island of Treasure (TIOT), as well as various other TV programmes hosted by local South African celebrities and conservation teams, as well as bloggers,” says David.
According to David, these channels opened the destination up to market sectors which previously may not have considered Seychelles as a holiday destination.
He also adds that STB is anticipating even greater growth in interest in the Seychelles in 2018.
The breakdown of the top six source markets for the visitor arrivals for 2017 are as follows:
