(Seychelles News Agency) - Emirates Airline has renewed its commitment to promote the attractions of the Seychelles because the island nation is such an important destination, a company official said Tuesday.

The Seychelles Tourism Board signed a global marketing agreement with Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market 2016 taking place in Dubai this week.

Emirates’ senior vice president of commercial operations in Africa, Orhan Abbas, says the airline carried over 180,000 passengers from and to Seychelles in 2015 and 2016. This makes the island nation an important destination, and this is why they are extending their global marketing activities, he said.

“We will develop a series of joint activities together with the tourism board of Seychelles aiming to increase the visibility of the destination with our clients,” says Abbas.

The renewed agreement covers marketing activities such as attendance at tourism trade shows and fairs, trade familiarisation trips, product presentations and workshops.

Alain St. Ange, Sherin Naiken, Orhan Abbas, and Thierry Antinori; renewing the MoU agreement to further boost inbound tourism to the islands of Seychelles. ( Emirates Airline) Photo License: CC-BY

During the signing ceremony, the chief executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Sherin Naiken, said, “I am delighted to be signing this MOU with our loyal and much-valued partner Emirates Airline, which will serve to foster and further the excellent spirit of collaboration that already exists between us.”

Emirates is one of the world’s largest airlines based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The company flies to over 140 destinations. The airline started flying to Seychelles in 2005 and has twice daily flights to the Seychelles islands in the western Indian Ocean. In June 2015, Emirates increased its flights' capacity by around 1,700 seats per week with the introduction of the Boeing 777-300ER.

The Seychelles archipelago with a population of 93,000 depends heavily on tourism, the top pillar of its economy. In the latest figures on visitor arrivals released by the National Bureau of Statistics in March, UAE is among the top six leading markets for February 2016 with around 2,500 visitors.