(Seychelles News Agency) - Seychelles expects to have Italy back as one of its leading markets in visitor arrivals in the first half of 2022, with a threefold increase forecast, the tourism department said on Thursday.

Tourism Seychelles – the marketing arm of the tourism department – held an open day for travel agents and travel consultants in Rome recently, where around 45 agents from different regions of Italy gathered in the capital for the event, held in partnership with Italian tour operator Evolution Travel.

There is growing interest in the island nation because it is one of the few countries open to Italian tourists through the COVID-free tourism corridors, Tourism Seychelles said in a press statement.

"We are confident that the COVID pandemic has reached its peak and that Italian visitors will soon be back amongst the top markets for Seychelles," said Danielle Di Gianvito, the Tourism Seychelles representative in Italy.

Figures from the tourism department show that the Italian market is quickly picking up after the lifting of the travel restrictions by the Italian government, with a forecast increase of 350 percent in bookings for the January-June period.

"Interest in the destination is very high, as is the demand for the spring and summer holidays," added Di Gianvito.

Italy has long been a leading tourism market for Seychelles and was the fourth top source market in 2019 with 27,289 visitors before the COVID-19 pandemic. The figures dropped to 2,884 in 2020, amid travel restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, and rose slightly to 3,313 in 2021.