The refreshed Seychelles tourism brand logo presented by Bernadette Willemin, Managing Director of Destination Marketing (Tourism Seychelles)
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(Seychelles News Agency) – Stakeholders in Seychelles’ tourism industry saw the archipelago’s brand “modernized” on Wednesday with a “newly infused” energy, in a bid to stay on par with competitors in the field. .
The refreshed logo still retains elements of the initial shape representative of significant Seychelles icons, from palm trees and flowers to endemic birds like the Paradise Flycatcher and the Tropicbird – but with a modern twist.
In her brief address to attendees of the unveiling ceremony, Principal Secretary of the Department of Tourism, Sherin Francis, said the new logo is “something that will represent very well what the nation is about”.
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| Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism Sherin Francis (Tourism Seychelles) Photo License: CC-BY |
High Tourism Department Manager Bernadette Willemin presented the new material to representatives of destination management companies, hotels and airlines saying that “the existing Seychelles brand lacked energy – that’s what we gave back to our brand today. today,” she explained.
The reveal, held at L’Escale Resort Marina and Spa on the main island of Mahe, comes just weeks before the industry will use the new images to represent Seychelles at the Top Resa show. of the international and French travel market (IFTM) in Paris on September 20. .
IFTM Top Resa is France’s premier travel event held annually in Paris through which French travel professionals network and connect with colleagues around the world.
Seychelles has been participating in the fair for over a decade. France is one of the country’s main tourist markets and this year they account for 30,278 visitors, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics for August 2022.
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| Tourism industry representatives at the unveiling ceremony (Tourism Seychelles) Photo License: CC-BY |
In a press interview after his presentation, Willemin said it was the right time for changes because “when we compared our brand to others, we lost visibility.”
She went on to explain that when Seychelles’ initial marketing materials were overhauled in 2006, “the digital world didn’t play the huge role it plays today”.
“Today we find that we have many constraints when working digitally on social media and especially in areas where we have to work our logo in smaller formats,” she added.
However, while seeking to refine the marketing materials, Seychelles has found it essential to ensure that end users are still able to identify the tourist destination.
“When you place the old logo next to the new one, you can still recognize us,” Willemin explained.
She added that if there had been a complete change in logos, it would mean “using a lot of resources to get people to re-associate with the brand”.
Seychelles’ facelift as a tourist destination has cost the island state in the western Indian Ocean £30,000 ($34,469) or SCR452,000.
The Union – a company based in Glasgow, Scotland, which originally worked on the complete marketing rebranding of the Seychelles islands 16 years ago – has been chosen to make the adjustments to the new logo.
The marketing company was chosen not only because of its extensive previous work with Seychelles, but also because the Union was founded by a Seychellois, “which was very important for us because he knows the country, the culture and people”.
After receiving the briefing, the Union sent technicians to Seychelles to “get a sense of the country, the culture and what the department wanted”, as well as work with Tourism Department officials for the final product.
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| The updated logo of the Seychelles islands (Tourism Seychelles) Photo License: CC-BY |
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