SEYCHELLES TOURISM ACADEMY COMPLETES PHASE ONE OF EXPANSION
(Posted 29th July 2014)
The Seychelles Tourism Academy is emerging as one of Africa’s leading vocational and tertiary tourism training institutions in Africa as the first phase of a major reconstruction, modernization and expansion has now been completed and handed over to the institution.
At hand was Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St. Ange, accompanied by senior staff from his ministry, the Seychelles Tourism Board, other government departments and private sector representatives who were all welcomed to the academy by Flavian Joubert, the Principal of STA and his management team.
Minister St. Ange expressed his satisfaction about the, albeit belated completion of phase one when he said: ‘We have a few bits of ground work to do which will be done now, and also to clean the lower car park area and for the Seychelles Land and Transport Agency can come in to put the bitumen that has all been dully paid for. All the equipment for the kitchen and restaurant has already arrived in the country and we hope that in 10 days’ time we can have it cleared and removed from the port area so that they can be put in place as we are hoping that the kitchen is completed by mid-October. After the second phase is completed we will then decide how we will take on the third phase which is the hotel side of this project. We have always said it is important to have a tourism academy that does justice to the industry which we consider as the pillar of the country’s economy. It is an important day for Seychelles as we are taking over the first phase of the Tourism Academy project which the Ministry of Tourism and Culture has worked closely with the Ministry of Finance, Trade and Investment to give this academy to Seychelles’.
The second phase of the project which consists of the management and administration block is expected to be ready late this year and when reaching that point will key decisions be taken on the pending phase three under which a range of additional facilities will be added to expand courses and give students yet greater skills for their careers in the hospitality and tourism industry. An application hotel of 30 rooms, a four and a five star villa and a Spa are part of the proposed additions to the academy under phase three where students, from the Seychelles, other islands and from the African mainland can train to the arguably highest standards available in Africa.
