Seychelles must not lose its safety label |22 December 2015

Seychelles must not lose its safety label and every citizen must remain conscious that a period of instability will cause the tourism industry to suffer.

“We need to remain united in safeguarding the image of Seychelles as a safe destination, and we must remember that our tourism industry is the pillar of our economy,” said the Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St Ange.

He was speaking to the local media following the travel advisory issued by the British government as a result of the political situation in Seychelles.

Minister St Ange said this remains only a travel advisory for British citizens currently in Seychelles and those planning to visit the islands, and must not become more than that as this will destabilise our tourism industry, thus having impact on our economy.

He said security in Seychelles is important and we must not let our tourism industry become vulnerable. 

“We must keep working together and remain proactive so that our country does not suffer,” the tourism minister said.

“It is vital that we do not open doors for us to be deemed as an unsafe tourism destination. Let us preserve our safety label, and together work to protect our tourism industry,” said Minister St Ange.

“The Seychelles Tourism Board finds it important to inform the tourism trade sector of Seychelles of what is happening because if this becomes more than just an advisory, they will be the ones who will be directly affected,” added Minister St Ange.

“We must keep in mind that it is the people working in the tourism industry who will suffer, so it is important that we keep the peace and stability that we have all always enjoyed in the country,” he added before saying that travel advisories are often issued on other countries but for Seychelles the only difference is that we depend on tourism for our survival.