MAJOR CONFERENCES HEAD TO THE SEYCHELLES IN OCTOBER
(Posted 22nd July 2014)
In less than three months will two major conferences take place in the Seychelles, the Africa Economic Congress from the 20th to the 23rd of October and the first ever edition of the UNWTO / ICAO Conference on Transport and Tourism in Africa, which will bring tourism and transport ministers, the aviation and the tourism industries of the continent together between the 13th and 16th of October.
This inaugural event of the UNWTO / ICAO Conference is today widely credited to the Seychelles’ Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St. Ange, and has its roots way back in 2011 when he was CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board and worked towards bringing the Routes Africa meeting to the Seychelles. Together with Elsia Grandcourt, then Deputy CEO of the tourism board (and now Director for Africa at UNWTO in Madrid), the two and their team worked with great determination to attract the airline meeting, which turned out to be Routes Africa’s most successful event ever at the time it took place on Mahe.
At that stage was no doubt the recognition coming into its own, that aviation and tourism are not just closely linked and interdependent but form a symbiotic relationship, one unable to exist and prosper without the other.
The Seychelles of course depend almost entirely on air transport to bring visitors and goods to the archipelago, a fact which no doubt further inspired St. Ange to bring the two sectors together. After being appointed Minister for Tourism and Culture in March 2012, having hosted a hugely successful second edition of the Carnaval de Carnivals, the Carnival International de Victoria, with UNWTO Secretary General Dr. Taleb Rifai the highest profile guest from abroad, the stage was set for the Seychelles to transform vision into reality.
St. Ange, in his ministerial capacity, fast became a beacon of hope for the African tourism fraternity as he spoke with passion and conviction at many conferences and meetings before carrying the Seychelles flag into the Executive Committee of UNWTO, representing the Eastern African and Indian Ocean islands part of the continent on this important UNWTO organ.
With the right forum and connections, it was just a matter of time before he managed to bring ICAO and UNWTO together and had them commit to a joint conference in the Seychelles, where else, to set an agenda of close future cooperation, alignment of strategies and joint approach towards solving connectivity problems and sectoral challenges.
Dr. Taleb Rifai a few weeks ago sent out his letter of invitation to the African transport and tourism ministers for the October meeting:
"On behalf of the UNWTO, the ICAO and the government of Seychelles, we have the honour to request your participation in the First UNWTO / ICAO Ministerial Conference on Tourism and Air Transport in Africa. The event will be held in Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles, October 14-15, 2014, with a preparatory meeting for the experts to be held on October 13, 2014.
The tourism sector in Africa has reached an above average growth rate. However, its full potential still remains untapped. In recognition of tourism’s high dependency on air transportation and in light of the critical importance of both tourism and air transportation in the context of economic growth and sustainable development, the conference will focus on Tourism and Air Transport in Africa, with the aim of exploring how to maximise existing resources.
The main objective of the ministerial conference is to highlight and analyse the critical linkages between a robust and revenue-generating African tourism sector, combined with safe, efficient and profitable air transport operations, and forward-looking economic policies that optimise both immediate revenue potential and sustainable socio-economic prosperity for Africa.
As outlined in the enclosed provisional programme, the expert panel discussions will generate ideas and high-level inputs which will then be shared with the ministerial participants for consideration. We firmly believe that this joint UNTWO / ICAO ministerial event represents an important milestone for the two sectors and builds on the Luanda Declaration on Tourism and Air Transport Connectivity, approved earlier this year on the occasion of the 56th meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Africa.
We sincerely hope that you will be able to participate in this unique setting and occasion and we are confident that the knowledge and expertise that will be shared, not to mention the distinctive perspectives of participating African States, will contribute significantly to the delivery of pragmatic, forward-looking proposals that will allow international governments to obtain their fair share out of the future growth of global tourism, ensuring a prosperous and sustainable tomorrow for Africa.
With the Seychelles again taking centre stage in driving aviation and tourism forward, as it did with the launch of the now 5th most popular carnival festival worldwide, may perhaps the recognition dawn on other African governments what can be accomplished if only they facilitate both sectors in the way the Seychelles have done over the past years and how much added investment can be attracted and how many new jobs be created when choosing to use the right policy tools, as again the Seychelles have done over the past years when pursuing an economic reform agenda and promote economic empowerment for Seychellois citizens, a key element in President Michel’s political agenda.
The recent meeting of the Indian Ocean Commission in the Seychelles also dedicated some of its attention to formulating a common position for its members vis a vis the UNWTO / ICAO conference, a sign that the importance of the tourism industry, and the aviation sector, at least across the Indian Ocean islands are fully understood while African mainland governments still have to re-examine their own ways how they treat and facilitate the two sectors.
Be sure to watch this space for upcoming news and information as the two events are coming nearer, in particular of course about the UNWTO / ICAO meeting which many industry observers consider crucial for the immediate future of the two sectors in Africa.
