Tourism students meet ministers Adam and St Ange in Reunion |21 November 2012

Shabellah Bristol, Vanessa Savy, Jasmine Talma, Ternesna Cadeau and Elsia Renaud were all working at the government establishment of Moka in St Denis, Reunion when the island’s président Didier Robert hosted tourism ministers of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) for lunch during the ministers’ summit.

Present at the lunch was also Minister Adam, the sitting president of the IOC, Jean-Luc Marx, the administrator of the island, Jean-Claude de L’Estrac, the secretary general of the IOC, among others.

It was an opportunity for ministers Adam and St Ange to meet the five hospitality and tourism students to see how they were and to get an update on how their studies were progressing.

“We were happy to see our very own students working alongside their Reunion counterparts serving at this important lunch function. They were shining with pride and keen to showcase their ability,” said Minister St Ange, whose ministry overseas the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA) which is responsible for these students.

Four of the students are completing attachment programme at the end of this month and are looking forward to return to Seychelles.

“These people to people contacts are the basis of a wide cooperation with Reunion. We are proud that our young professionals in the tourism industry can benefit from this fantastic learning experience, while also sharing ‘the Seychelles touch’ with our neighbours,” said Minister Adam to the press in Reunion.

Tourism remains the pillar of the Seychelles economy and emphasis on training for the industry remains a government priority.

“We are always raising the bar in how we train our young Seychellois to be better prepared and to be ready to take up more senior positions in our tourism industry. This is why President James Michel personally pushed for the reconstruction of the tourism academy, and this is why STA principal Flavien Joubert is leaving no stones unturned in his drive to work with the private sector trade to deliver for Seychelles what the industry needs and what the industry requires,” added Minister St Ange.