AS SEYCHELLES tourism marks its 40th anniversary, the islands‘ tourism board has joined the president’s office in producing a ‘green paper’ which will form the nation‘s Master Plan for Tourism.
The first draft of the important document, which will chart the way forward for Seychelles’ tourism, was presented to president James Michel by Alain St Ange, CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board, who said it is important for the country to take stock of the strengths and weaknesses of the industry, which is so vital to the economy, and keep making progress.
“Seychelles has achieved so much in the last 40 years since its tourism industry was launched in earnest on July 4, 1971. Today, as we launch this master plan to consolidate our industry’s future, we are setting the base for the consolidation of our industry,” said St Ange.
He also welcomed the president’s earlier decision to bring tourism into his own portfolio recognising the importance of the industry.
“Tourism is today the leading pillar of the Seychelles’ economy and it is a model that is working. It is for this very reason that we should not let it run on without assessing where we are going and what we want to achieve in the next five years,” he said. “President Michel initiated the master plan at a good time, when the new Seychelles brand of tourism was taking life and the people were being encouraged to come forward and be part of this vibrant industry, all sectors and everyone is now being covered in this new plan.”
Based on input from all relevant sectors of the Seychelles tourism industry following an exhaustive fact-gathering exercise, the master plan aims to create a road map for tourism that will consolidate the industry over the long term, while providing it with the sustainability it will require to prosper.
The final document, which is expected to be published at the end of November, is valid for five years at the end of which it will be updated.
Later this year in December St Ange will address the Arabian Business Forum, in Dubai, UAE, where he will speak about the Seychelles‘ success as a sustainable tourism destination and the drive behind the islands‘ tourism industry.
Emirates Holidays and the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) have once more teamed up to boost tourist traffic to the Seychelles. ‘Be Smart, Be Carnaval’ is a joint undertaking which has recently been launched to target travel agents from specific markets.
Travel agents from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Russia, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey will be invited to keep track of their bookings to the Seychelles until January 31, 2012, and the four top performing agents will be sent to the ‘Seychelles Carnaval International de Victoria’ next year.