(Posted 25th March 2024)
Alain St.Ange remains arguably the best known Tourism Personality of the Indian Ocean and was welcomed in Mamoudzou in Mayotte by the island’s main press where he accepted to be interviewed.
Alain St.Ange, the former Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine of the Seychelles, currently heads his own ‘Saint Ange Tourism Consultancy’ and arrived in Mayotte on luxury cruise ship where he is currently based delivering lectures on the different countries the vessel is set to dock at during its run from Durban in South Africa all the way through to the Seychelles with stops at Maputo and Mozambique Island, the UNESCO Heritage Site, of Mozambique, Mayotte, Comoros, Zanzibar & Dar Es Salaam of Tanzania and Mombasa in Kenya before disembarking in his mid-ocean island of the Seychelles.
As he appreciated the Mayotte welcome with flowers decorating the gangway from landing jetty and a Maore cultural group in traditional light blue dresses singing and tapping their drums entertaining the passengers as they made their way onto Mayotte, he addressed the waiting press.
Addressing the editors of the main written press and the anchor of island’s main TV Station Alain St.Ange emphasised the importance of Tourism as an industry for Mayotte and fot the rest of the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands.
He was the founding President of the Vanilla Islands and the only one to serve two back-to-back mandates as the President of the six Islands Group comprising of Reunion, Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros and Mayotte.
He touched on cruise tourism and implored the island’s press to analyse the returns to the country, and to the private sector trade. He also spoke about the need for stability and security as essential ingredients for a succesful tourism industry.
On the Vanilla Islands Organisation Alain St.Ange said that it remains relevant today as it was when it was launched so many years ago. He commended the successes of the Regional Organisation in cruise tourism, but said more needed to be done to ensure the islanders of all the six-member islands benefited directly from their tourism industry.
Alain St.Ange will be on Mayotte for another day before sailing into Comoros on Sunday 24 of March.
Meanwhile, while on Mayotte, die Michel Madi, the Director of Tourism for Mayotte, one of the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands Group, welcome Alain St.Ange. the former Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine of the Seychelles to his Mamoudzou City Center Offices.
It was the opportunity for the two tourism leaders to discuss tourism as the vital industry for the six Indian Ocean Islands that form part of the Vanilla Islands Group.
This meeting in Mamoudzou was the opportunity to discuss the current cruise ship tourism niche market for Mayotte Island as well as their free independent tourism (FIT) market touching on the essential value for money demand by the discerning travellers and also needed security at all times, “Never forgetting that what is good for visitors is also good for the island’s residents” said St.Ange.
