SEYCHELLES’ TOURISM MINISTER EMPHASIZES ‘RECOMMENDED READINGS’ TO THE ARCHIPELAGO’S TOURISM INDUSTRY
(Posted 03rd April 2014)
Members of the Seychelles tourism industry were urged during a ‘door to door’ hotel visit at Praslin Island to subscribe to eTurboNews, to For Immediate Release and to The Indian Ocean Times to ensure they are kept well informed at all times with the latest happenings in the industry both on the local scene and on the International arena.
Minister St.Ange said that these three different News Wires were always carrying news on the Seychelles Tourism Industry as well as news on the Region and Worldwide tourism. Additionally there is of course this blog which features a number of additional topics about the Seychelles, other Indian Ocean islands and the Eastern African region, with a degree of relevance to the Seychelles tourism fraternity. The following are links to these new media:
www.eturbonews.com, www.forimmediaterelease.net, http://www.indian-ocean-times.com, www.wolfganghthome.wordpress.com
‘These services are totally free and by scrolling down on the page one can subscribe to them and receive updated news daily’ Minister St. Ange told his audience. He went on to say that what was deemed important to tourism establishments and businesses was sometimes left out of the main local press and too often this kept tourism related operators in the dark about happenings in their own industry.
‘This week for example the news wire brought out news of the recent decision by the UK government to reform the Air Passenger Duty (APD). The current APD system, in place since 2008, had significantly hindered UK’s tourism while creating important market distortions affecting long-haul destinations like the Seychelles. It is such news items that has a bearing on the industry that needs to be read and hears’ Minister Alain St.Ange added.
Minister St. Ange, together with his senior staff in the ministry, some weeks ago launched a new initiative to not only meet the tourism trade periodically in a set forum but to actually meet key stakeholders in their hotels, resorts and even ocean side, to discuss with them their location specific and other issues, be it of a policy, legal or regulatory nature, while at the same time allowing the Ministry staff to carry out an inspection of the property visited and impart guidance and advice to the owners and managers.
This novel way of meeting the industry on ‘their own patch’ has generated very positive feedback from the hospitality and tourism fraternity, one of whom described Minister St. Ange as ‘… a Minister from the tourism industry for the tourism industry’, a remarkable acknowledgment of his good fortunes he brought to the sector since his erstwhile appointment in 2008/9 as Director of Tourism Marketing at the Seychelles Tourism Board, before he was appointed as CEO of STB and then brought into the cabinet by President James Alix Michel, who previously had held the tourism portfolio himself. Seychelles, truly Another World.
