Touch of Seychelles: Our Story
Touch of Seychelles is an e-commerce website, designed to be an online marketplace that allows Seychelles made arts and artisanal products to be available for purchase all over the world.
The Republic of Seychelles is a dream destination, frequented by hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, making the tourism industry one of the key pillars of this island nation’s economy. From hotels to tour companies, restaurants and artisanal craft vendors… a large majority of local businesses heavily rely on the constant inflow of tourists.
This all changed with 2020’s COVID-19 global crisis. The Seychelles entered a nationwide lock down and closed off its borders to the world. Fortunately, we emerged victorious against the mere 11 positive cases recorded, with no fatalities or community spread. Soon, we were declared COVID free and on June 1, the Seychelles International Airport finally re-opened – but with COVID-19 still affecting many countries, tourism is not expected to return to its former glory any time soon.
Needless to say, this has severely impacted on tourism reliant businesses, especially the small arts and crafts vendors providing tourists souvenirs of their time on our islands.
This is where Touch of Seychelles (TOS) comes in.
Putting their strengths and skills together, a couple of local entrepreneurs decided that if the world cannot come to the Seychelles, then they could at least bring a touch of the Seychelles to them.
Creating the country’s first international online selling platform, TOS aims to aid our artisans and artists by providing them the ability to showcase and sell their creations to the global market. Not only will this provide them income to feed their families and see them through these hard times, TOS also aims to aid the Seychelles economy in its long path to recovery.
However, TOS wants to be SO much more.
Being proud Seychellois ourselves, we zealously hold our culture in high regard as it reflects the rich history and identity of our people. We do not want to simply sell souvenirs. To us, the Seychelles is first and foremost, its people.
In our isolated location in the vast Indian Ocean, our ancestors have had to find creative ways to live in islands that were not previously inhabited… ways that we hope to encourage younger generations to continue, by providing them with an incentive to do so.
So when you purchase through TOS, you are bringing home the warmth of our sunny smiles, the cheeky humour of market gossip, and the old stories of our grandparents. When you open your TOS package, may you feel like you’ve brought home our abundant joie de vivre, and that what you now own is made from paradise, with love.