Record number of South African travellers flocked to the Seychelles in 2017

12 Jan 2018

With a new record of nearly 350,000 visitors, arrivals into the Seychelles for 2017 surpassed predictions made by the Seychelles Tourism Board.

Penstones via pixabay

According to the latest statistics released by the tourism board, 2017 saw a total of 14,203 South Africans visiting the Seychelles, compared to 12,354 visitors in 2016. South African arrivals increased by 15% year-on-year for the year ending 2017, making SA the sixth best source market for the island destination.

According to David Germain, regional director – Africa and 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.

New exposure channels opening up the destination to new market sectors

“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 Tropika 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 Germain.

According to Germain, 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: