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2016 World Tourism Day national forum |28 September 2016

‘Seychelles can bridge Africa and Asia through tourism and transport’

 

 

The Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St Ange and other partners in the national tourism trade believe that Seychelles can make the theme ‘Seychelles the bridge between Africa and Asia through tourism and transport’ happen, if they all work together.

The declaration was made during a tourism forum under that theme to mark International Tourism Day yesterday.

The conference, held at the International Conference Centre of Seychelles (ICCS) on Bois de Rose Avenue, gathered prominent international and local speakers from the trade, notably Andrew Jones, chairman of the executive board of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). Other invited panellists were Sherin Francis, chief executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB); Elsia Grandcourt, programme director regional programme for Africa: United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO); Roy Kinnear, chief executive of Air Seychelles; Wilson Nancy, chairman of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI); Sybillle Cardon, chairperson of the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association and Pierre Delplace, owner of Del Place Restaurant. The moderator was Glynn Burridge, tourism consultant from the Seychelles Tourism Board.

The event started off with a special tourism day message from the secretary general of the UNWTO, Taleb Rifai, to the people of Seychelles on that occasion.

Minister St Ange said the country needs to mark World Tourism Day because it depends on tourism.

He said tourism has been the powerful vehicle to stimulate our economy and social growth of our islands, but as we are so small we need to work in partnership. Therefore PATA and Asia is an important tourism market for us.

Regarding the theme ‘Seychelles the bridge between Africa and Asia through tourism and transport’, the minister said some may consider it far-fetched but it is something that we need to do.

“To look at and reposition Seychelles because we are sitting dead in the centre of the world, virtually on the Equator between North and South, between East and West. Often great leaders have spoken about South-South cooperation but for it to happen the span is too long very often. And we need a bridge. And Seychelles was just right in its position to be that bridge between Africa and Asia,” he said.

 

But the minister also acknowledged that we need adequate air connectivity in order to do that, though Seychelles is connected to the rest of the world never than it had before. He mentioned the coming of Turkish Airlines to our shores which he said is due to the tourism industry working together.

Referring to his previous tagline of ‘Claim back our tourism industry’, Minister St Ange urged Seychellois to not be just workers in the industry but to be owners and investors in it.

“The more Seychellois are involved the more the industry is defended and protected,” he said.

Minister St Ange also made reference to Seychelles being leaders in the Vanilla Islands which he described as another form of partnership. He said that group links India to Africa, that leads the bloc of Asian countries to Africa. And it is through this group that we are positioning ourselves as the bridge between these two blocks.

Reaffirming the need to work together and to appreciate what is tourism, the minister explained it is not only hotels that make tourism but also the Seychellois culture.

“We must also embrace what we are today and this is our culture. And when we embrace culture we are putting people at the centre of development,” said Minister St Ange.

And to the private sectors in tourism, Minister St Ange again advised them to employ and provide good salaries to Seychellois trained by the Seychelles Tourism Academy as they do to the expatriates.

He said he would not like to see the country ends in a position where politicians or government interfere to make that happen.

In his keynote address, Andrew Jones said the opportunity to speak at this forum was very timely as PATA works through partnership with private and the public sectors for responsible and sustainable growth in the development of tourism to, from and within the region. And the group last year welcomed the first member from Africa which was Zimbabwe.

He added that many tourism boards and local tourism sectors in Africa are looking eastwards towards the Asia Pacific region. And as they set their sight very firmly on the Asia-Pacific as a region with source market of the utmost influence and value, they have to continue to act as an important resource of networking and knowledge for the development of the bridges between these regions.

“In doing so, we play five major advocacy roles: these are facilitation, dispersal of tourists; sustainable tourism development, human capital development and crisis management meant for business recovery,” he said, believing these principles will benefit the nations in both regions and in destinations such as the Seychelles that enjoy strategic locations along this tourism bridge.

He mentioned a recently signed memorandum of understanding with Africa which will facilitate work on these principles.

He noted that the suggestion that Seychelles might act as a bridge between the hugely influential source market in the Asia Pacific region and the untapped potential of so many destinations across the continent of Africa might be visionary, but in geographical term, the proposition makes good sense but to turn this dream into reality maybe the challenge.

Mr Jones also announced the launch of the Global Entrepreneurship Challenge 2016 where the grand prize winner will win a trip of a lifetime to the Seychelles. (More on this in next Monday’s business page).

There was also a tree planting outside the ICCS and welcoming tokens to visitors arriving at the Seychelles International Airport.

 

 

 

 

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