To improve the outcome of the low season, Seychelles' Department of Tourism brought together representatives from the industry to discuss an action plan this week.

The principal secretary for Tourism, Sherin Francis, said this event is one of the outcomes of the marketing meeting held last month.

The meeting included presentations about statistics and market trends for visitors coming to Seychelles and one key point was the fact that the market trends were changing and evolving.

"We have to continually collect and share data with the industry, so the operators can react adequately to the changes happening in the market trends. From what we have gathered, visitors nowadays want experiences, such as cultural experiences or ecological experiences. There is an increase in solo travellers also. These trends are opportunities for our industry, and we must respond to them if we want to expand," said Francis.

"From the discussion we had so far, it is clear that the operators in the industry already have an idea of the issue at hand and what needs to be done. We will also take this opportunity to strategise together as an industry so we can have an action plan for next year," she added.

The principal secretary said the importance of collaborating as an industry and "the key point is that everyone should work together, not just the government but the private sector as well, such as agreeing on some innovative packages or perhaps certain events that we can collaborate on. Of course, there will be follow-ups after this meeting, we want to ensure that everyone is doing their part to improve the outcomes from the low season."

She also talked about other plans that the tourism department is considering and said: "In September, we are planning training for the smaller operators. This will be about revenue management. We have seen that some smaller establishments are having trouble optimising their revenue, such as managing revenue during the high season well, so it can cover the low season. We are also discussing planning several events during these low months."

The Department of Tourism estimates, according to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), that the low season in Seychelles for visitor arrivals will be the beginning of January, May, June, September and the start of December.  

Francis also touched on the subject of airlines and the effect that their schedules can have on the number of visitor arrivals. She said, "We do have representatives from airlines here today, and in fact the conversation with the airlines started well in advance to this meeting. We want to work on a framework or structure where we can encourage the airlines to operate year-round in Seychelles. At the moment several airlines have chosen to fly to Seychelles only during the peak season."