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Victoria- Seychelles tourism is drawing on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic as aviation disruptions linked to conflict in the Middle East test the island nation’s international air connectivity and its ability to keep visitors arriving.
According to Shelda Commettant, Chief Press Secretary at State House, Republic of Seychelles, the two crises have exposed different vulnerabilities but delivered a common lesson: for an island economy heavily dependent on international tourism, keeping the destination attractive is not enough. Seychelles must also keep the routes that bring travelers to its shores open.
The issue took on added significance as Seychelles marked World Tourism Day on September 27, welcoming arriving visitors at Seychelles International Airport and across the islands.
In March 2026, visitor arrivals fell 37.2% year on year to 23,746. Seychelles’ beaches, hotels and tourism product had not suddenly changed. The destination had not failed. The route to it had.
The destination had not failed. The route to it had.
Around 60% of visitors reach Seychelles through connecting flights in Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, according to the International Monetary Fund. When conflict in the Middle East disrupted airports and airspace across the Gulf, Seychelles’ principal corridor to the world narrowed almost overnight.
For a country whose economy rests heavily on tourism, the fear was familiar.
We Have Been Here Before
In April 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, Seychelles welcomed just 22 visitors, compared with 37,103 in the same month a year earlier. Arrivals for 2020 fell by 70%.
Seychelles responded aggressively. It became the first African country to launch a national COVID-19 vaccination campaign in January 2021 and, by March that year, was among the first destinations to fully reopen.
Six years later, Commettant points to three lessons from that experience: speed, value over volume, and diversification.
The first was speed. COVID taught Seychelles that waiting can cost more than acting.
This year, the response came in weeks rather than months. Air Seychelles introduced temporary direct flights to Paris and Rome to protect access to Europe, the destination’s largest source market. Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines returned in June, Aeroflot followed in July, while Ethiopian Airlines added capacity.
The second lesson was value over volume.
Between January and July 2026, Seychelles received fewer visitors than during the corresponding period in 2025, yet tourism earnings increased by 4.7%.
Following the pandemic, Seychelles increasingly emphasized value rather than simply chasing arrival numbers, positioning itself around higher-spending visitors and eco-luxury rather than mass tourism.
The third lesson was market diversification.
Africa was the only major region to record growth during the first seven months of 2026, with arrivals increasing by 9.6%. Regional tourism links are therefore becoming an increasingly important component of the destination’s resilience.
Building More Roads to Seychelles
The latest crisis has also exposed unfinished work.
Around six in ten visitors continue to reach Seychelles through Gulf hubs that have served the islands well for years. Expanding alternative gateways alongside those established connections is a logical next step.
The pandemic tested demand. The latest crisis tested access.
Building resilience now means expanding direct routes, developing additional gateways and strengthening the role of the national carrier.
There are already encouraging signs. Visitor arrivals in August rose 14.1% year on year to 34,987. Arrivals during the first eight months of 2026 stood 1.2% above the corresponding period in 2024, although they remained 8.3% below the record-setting 2025 performance.
Peace Is Also a Tourism Policy
Commettant also connects Seychelles’ tourism resilience with the country’s longstanding foreign-policy approach.
At the United Nations, President Dr. Patrick Herminie described Seychelles as “a friend to all, and an enemy to none,” while characterizing non-alignment as an active choice for peace.
For an island economy dependent on international visitors, that principle also carries an economic dimension. Maintaining relationships across markets and regions gives Seychelles more options when individual aviation corridors come under pressure.
The World Tourism Day welcome at Seychelles International Airport therefore represented more than a ceremonial greeting. It was a reminder of what ultimately sits at the heart of the country’s tourism industry: keeping Seychelles accessible, welcoming and connected to the world.
As Commettant’s analysis concludes, COVID closed the world, while the latest crisis closed important corridors. In both cases, Seychelles worked to keep its door open.
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