The Editorial this week highlights:- a. Cost and Seychelles Tourism. b. Guest Speaker and Moderator at IATA Regional Aviation Forum, Accra Ghana. c. Air Mauritius is shaking many of the rates structures on the Seychelles route. d. Appointed Chairman of Trustees of the Arab Tourism News Portal – Al-Masala- Official Tourism Travel Portal News At Middle East. e. On a working visit to Reunion last weekend I held discussions with the island’s President Didier Robert. f. “One Seychelles” political party presents its official registration documents to Electoral commission. g. Fuel Costs in Mauritius goes down…will Seychelles follow?. h. Hovercraft arrives in Seychelles. I. Another week another renowned footballer on La Digue. Stand alone articles this week:- 1. Alain St. Ange – who is he? by ATC News (Aviation, Travel and Conservation News). 2. ‘Seychelles Biggest Event a Success’ by Tourism Tattler Magazine – 2016. 3. Alain St.Ange a Case Study with Anita Mendiratta of CNN. 4. The Selby chefs conquering Seychelles on ‘A Treasure Trail of Tastes’. 5. Air Seychelles and Seychelles Tourism join hands in South Africa. 6. Tourism Promotion in one’s backyard:- Zanzibar Tourism Show bring the Spice Island theme to Kampala. 7. UNWTO: Tourism is a global force for growth and development. 8. Travel Trade Professionals from the city of Saint Gilles in Reunion trained to be Seychelles expert. 9. Seychelles Tourism Board Team visited Trade Partners in Scandinavia. 10. Closing Notes.
Alain St.Ange
Welcome to this 23nd edition of Vol 3 of the Saint Ange Tourism Report of 2019.
Cost and Seychelles Tourism
The Seychelles overseas Tour Operator partners are talking more openly at applicable rates today and do not shy away from reminding everyone that at WTM in London over a year ago they echoed words of caution that fell on deaf ears. Seychelles say a weak May and June in its tourism industry. Rates is an area where every operator leads his own ship. But the question is whether operating costs on the ground continues to push up prices which at the end of the day will no only affect Government coffers but also every islander picking up business from tourists on holiday in Seychelles.
Today it is known that cuts in spending at Foreign Affairs and Tourism Board are being proposed. For Tourism are we not removing the much needed ingredient for growth of the industry?
Guest Speaker and Moderator at IATA Regional Aviation Forum, Accra Ghana
This week I leave Seychelles for the IATA Regional Aviation Forum – Ghana 2019 in Accra, Ghana.. This regional event will be convened under the theme “Aviation: Business for Regional Prosperity” and will bring together more than 150 distinguished aviation experts, decision makers and influencers from airlines, airports, civil aviation authorities, air navigation service providers, travel agency associations, and government agencies from across the West and Central African region.
As the President of the African Tourism Board I have been invited to this special annual event and to participate as Moderator of a Panel Discussion on the topic “West and Central Africa as Preferred Tourism Destination: The Need for Greater Industry Synergy”.
Discussions within the panel are expected to examine steps West and Central African countries need to take to become preferred tourism destinations, including inducing synergy between sectors such as tourism, air transport, travel management and hotels.
The forum will highlight the socio-economic prosperity that aviation can generate if properly adopted by West and Central African countries. The panel comprises the Ministers of Tourism of Ghana and Cote D’ Ivoire, CEO of Africa World Airlines, Country Manager of South African Airways, President of National Association of Nigerian Travel Agents and the Managing Director of Marriott Hotels
Air Mauritius is shaking many of the rates structures on the Seychelles route
Air Mauritius will land in Seychelles on the 2nd July as they restart their Seychelles operation. This announcement on a new airline serving the region can only be good news for passengers. The cost of flights from Seychelles to Mauritius has already been considerably lowered effective with the flight days of Air Mauritius. Everyone is talking and the airline is set to see high load factor on their Seychelles route and may increase the frequency because of the high demand. Flights from St. Pierre in Reunion have also been advertised at reduced rates if connecting to Seychelles. Reunnionais have a cheaper option for a Seychelles holiday. The last couple of days Agents in South Africa are also advertising Seychelles flights with a transit via Mauritius. It is a direct line and it is only the cost that will make this route attractive for passengers. For months many Seychellois are travelling to South Africa via Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and discussions with those travellers always cite cost as the main factor to take a longer route.
Appointed Chairman of Trustees of the Arab Tourism News Portal – Al-Masala- Official Tourism Travel Portal News At Middle East
Alain St.Ange
Chairman of Trustees of the Arab Tourism News Portal
– Al-Masala- Official Tourism Travel Portal News At Middle East
Last week I was honoured to have been appointed Chairman of Trustees of the Arab Tourism News Portal – Al-Masala-Official Tourism Travel Portal News At Middle East.
The call confirmed that the Board of Directors of Al Masalla had unanimously approved for my nomination as the President of the African Tourism Board as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Al Masalla portal (www.almasalla.travel). Al Masalla is the first tourism portal in the Middle East and the Arab World; specialized in the world of tourism, travel and aviation since 2005.
Al-Masalla-Official Tourism Travel Portal News in the Middle East (www.almasalla.travel)
Almasalla is the Pioneer Portal News in the Middle East that specializes in tourism and aviation news. From May 2005 they cover news of Arab tourism community through news, investigations, and interviews with experts and decision makers of tourism and aviation industries.
Their reports feature unique coverage, comprehensive investigations, specialized studies,
authentic figures and outstanding news that reach over 5 million user of internet from Arab
countries directly via their news bulletins. Their hourly basis updating of the material allow them to supply to their readers with spontaneous assessment of professional events of the two industries, that is supported by our massive data base and contact list with businessmen in the Arab World.
The nomination as the sitting President of the African Tourism Board was encouraging and showed the spirit of working together is today more desired than ever before. “We have but one tourism industry and we all need to work to safeguard it and help to consolidate it because too many economies in the Community of Nations depend on it and too many today need tourism for their livelihood” I said after receiving the nomination.
On a working visit to Reunion last weekend I
held discussions with the island’s President Didier Robert
the new Levasseur Rum, a taste of Seychelles
presented to the island’s President
President Didier Robert of Reunion, the President of the island’s Regional Council made time to meet me as I was in Reunion for a working visit. As a former Seychelles Minister and one of the founding Presidents of the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands this meeting was an opportunity to again look at the region tourism industry especially now that I hold the position of President of African Tourism Board (ATB) Region and the Continent’s cooperation opportunities in tourism was looked at.
Reunion Island is known as “Europe of the Indian Ocean” as they fly the French Flag and enjoy their unique position off the coast of mainland Africa. They also remain a leading proactive member of the region’s Vanilla Islands Group.
Reunion’s Airline, Air Austral is one of the region’s flourishing airline with routes touching Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, Mayotte and South Africa. The airline is also in partnership with Air Madagascar giving it the largest route network on the Big Island. With the affiliate airline EWA they also touch Tanzania and Mozambique.
President Didier Robert remains very much a leader who believes in cooperation and he was instrumental working with me as the then Seychelles Minister of Tourism in the creation of the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands. Together we discussed strengthening the region’s tourism source markets and the opening of new potential markets such as Israel for the region.
President Didier Robert’s vision for his island shows his belief in tourism as an industry for wealth creation. He leads in sustainable tourism approach pushing forward renewable energy concept at the same time.
As the President of thee African Tourism Board (ATB) I believe that Reunion should work with ATB and consolidate its tourism development further as they look at the Continent for further growth for Air Austral. Reunion Island is today enjoying real successes in Cruise Tourism, a tourism market targeted by the island’s President when he took over the Indian Ocean Vanilla Island’s Presidency.
With President we discussed the availability to participate as a resource person and speaker at coming tourism and environment conferences being planned in Reunion.
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