(Seychelles News Agency) - Aeroflot will offer three direct flights linking Russia's capital of Moscow to Seychelles starting May 1, said the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB).

The announcement of the additional flight was made on Friday. The airline will now be connecting Seychelles to Russia on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The news came two weeks after Aeroflot made its first return to the islands after a 17-year absence.

The chief marketing officer for Aeroflot, Anton Myagkov, said, "We're excited to add another flight to this holiday destination. We offer a great flying experience whilst Seychelles is a strong option for all segments, whether a family, couple or group of friends."

Myagkov added that the new flight can already be booked and besides the growing interest of first-time visitors to the islands, he also expects to see a good number of repeat visitors later this year.

He reassured travellers that "health and safety are our number one priority and we have enhanced all measures that touch every step of a customer's travel with the airline."

The chief executive of STB, Sherin Francis said this was great news for Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean.

"Since the launch of services from Moscow, we have seen steady upkeep of passenger traffic on the route. This reflects the increased demand on the market and based on the frequency of the flights, the minimum nights in Seychelles for a Russian visitor travelling with Aeroflot will be 7 nights or more," she said.

Francis added that "if this trend is maintained, Russia will be our number 1 market, producing the highest number of visitors per month."

According to the latest figures of the National Bureau of Statistics, a total of 2,936 visitors arrived in Seychelles the week ending April 11.  A breakdown of visitor arrivals showed that Russia topped the list with 831 visitors coming to Seychelles which is 28 percent of the total visitor arrivals for that week.