“A good tourism industry is good for Seychelles and each citizen should bear this in mind”. The Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St.Ange echoed these words during an interview he gave on the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation’s popular News Extra programme aired on Wednesday evening, 22 July 2015.
Minister St.Ange was speaking to the programme’s host, well-known journalist Michael Payet on the various tourism related issues and the latest developments in this industry.
He gave more details on the two newly appointed advisory boards of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture – Monuments and Museums advisory boards and announced the coming appointment of a Tourism Advisory Board and a Creative Industry Board for the island’s world of Arts and Culture as well as a National Archives Board.
Minister St.Ange said these recent appointments form part of the new approaches that the Ministry of Tourism and Culture has taken and for them to see on the one part the vitality of the country’s museums and monuments and on theother side to ensure that policy making becomes an inclusive approach for tourism and for cultural affairs.
The Minister added that it is also a way of getting the island’s professionals with great expertise in various fields to contribute towards the development of the Seychelles tourism and culture sectors.
During the interview, Minister Alain St.Ange also spoke about the new initiative to honour and recognise past players of the Seychelles tourism industry who have dedicated most of their lives to make this sector what it is today.
He added that the chosen place to honour these founding fathers of the island’s tourism industry will be at the Seychelles Tourism Academy. “This is ideal as it is where we train our future tourism professionals” the Minister said.
Minister St.Ange commented on an article published in a foreign newspaper recently which states of clients’ discontentment on high prices paid on beverages in a hotel in Seychelles. The Minister added that such articles affect the Seychelles brand of tourism and the image that the country is promoting. “A satisfied client is a plus for Seychelles as the person will go back to his or her country and promote the good service given while holidaying here. We should all realise the importance of our tourism industry and remember that it is the pillar of the Seychelles economy” the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture said.
Minister St.Ange saluted Mr Michael Payet and the News Extra team at the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation as well as the other media houses for helping the Ministry and the Seychelles Tourism Board to keep members of the public informed on the happenings in the tourism industry.
Minister St.Ange also spoke about other points such as his door-to-door visits to tourism establishments in the country, direct flights to Paris, and the moratorium imposed on large hotel projects in the country, an announcement that was made by President James Michel on National Day.
