Hard FACT: Record tourist arrivals registered in 2010

Thanks to the policies of President James Michel.

In 2010, Seychelles welcomed almost 175 000 tourists, which is another record for visitor arrivals.

This record is around 17 000 higher than in 2009. In 2009, as many as 157 541 tourists visited the jurisdiction. According to Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) chief executive Alain St Ange, the number of tourists visiting rose sharply in 2010 as a result of teamwork by all stakeholders in the tourism industry. The increase may also be attributed to the hard work added to the STB’s marketing drive by Seychelles’ tourism ambassadors abroad.

However, St Ange noted that a rise in the number of visitors does not necessarily mean increased spending by them. This factor depends not on the STB but on the private sector. He stated that there is a need to maximise earnings from tourism.

A survey of visitors for the 3rd quarter of 2010 carried out by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that, among the different items tourists spent money on, restaurants were the highest apart from hotel bills and other hotel expenses. They were followed by excursions and souvenirs.

70% of the visitors surveyed came via tour operators, most of them came from Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. With 13 nights on average Visitors from Germany stayed in Seychelles longest, followed by those from Switzerland (12.9) the United Kingdom (11).