05.31.09
Posted in International relations, Offshore Banking, Seychelles banking, Seychelles government, Tourism industry at 10:24 pm by Robert Klien
On May 28, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia visited President James Michel at State House. The Prince and the President held talks in the presence of Nouvobanq managing director Ahmed Saeed and Minister for National Development Jacquelin Dugasse.
It should be noted that Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was talking about investing in the tourism industry in Seychelles. He told the media that the jurisdiction to a great extent depends on tourism, and that he would be visiting shortly the Four Seasons. He also mentioned the Raffles hotel on Praslin to be inaugurated in the end of next year as it is important for economic and tourism development.
Prince Alwaleed told President Michel that he is looking forward to having more projects in tourism in the jurisdiction.
Saudi Arabian delegation arrived to Seychelles from Mauritius and went home after a few hours.
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03.22.09
Posted in Business and Economy, International relations, Tourism industry at 11:22 am by Robert Klien
A Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) marketing team is currently at the ITB trade show in Berlin, Germany. Before the show, the team held successful meetings and a press conference with the French trade in Paris.
The delegation led by new marketing director for tourism Alain St Ange included the Paris-based regional manager Bernadette Willemin.
St Ange said that the delegation was satisfied with the meetings and is expecting the same enthusiasm from other markets to be visied on this European tour. According to him, the meetings were the ideal opportunity for the French partners to get updated information on the new marketing strategy of the Seychelles as well as on the recent changes at the STB. St Ange believed that the interaction will help the Seychelles Tourism Board to consolidate the jurisdiction’s tourism industry.
Also, St Ange and his delegation held a meeting with Seychelles’ ambassador in Paris, Claude Morel. Later together with Louis D’Offay, chairman of the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association, they had a private meeting with French Minister Rama Yade at her offices at the Quai d’Orsay. This was a good opportunity to hear the Minister’s impressions of her recent visit to the Seychelles.
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10.08.08
Posted in Business and Economy, Seychelles offshore jurisdiction, Tourism industry at 9:26 am by Robert Klien
Within the next 30 months, a USD 350 million resort will be built at the location where the condemned Plantation Club Resort & Casino is now situated. Most of the existing buildings of Plantation Club Resort & Casino will be demolished and, after that, a 3-phase development will start. The 1st part will be ready in 18 months.
The resort property has been awarded through public tender to European Hotels and Resorts Ltd. The development partner is Mantis Development International.
The development is expected to attract an extra 9 000 tourists per year to Seychelles. Also, it should contribute USD 350 million to the offshore jurisdiction’s GDP. It is also important that construction work will provide the equivalent of 14 000 jobs.
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05.15.08
Posted in Business and Economy, Foreign investments, Tourism industry at 9:36 pm by Robert Klien
A global leader in providing IT solutions for the hospitality industry, IDS SOFTWARES Pvt Ltd, has announced that it is entering Seychelles. The company has partnered Paradise Computer Services (PCS), one of the largest IT companies in Seychelles, in the venture that is expected to be successful.
As tourism is the mainstay of Seychelles contributing more than 21% of the GDP and accounting for more than 60% of the forex earnings, IDS products in Seychelles have a high potential. Entering Seychelles strengthens the presence of IDS in the African continent.
It should be noted that the above announcement closes in on company’s target of expanding into 40 countries by the end of the financial year 2008-2009.
Rajesh P Yadav, general manager of IDS, commented on the entry into Seychelles, noting that the company is happy to tie up with Paradise Computer Services for sales and support in the Seychelles market as far as Africa offers great opportunities for its products.
PCS is a leader in IT integration in Seychelles. Based in Victoria and Mahe, the company was established in 1995 with a view to provide an unparalleled level of service to the IT sector.
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11.24.07
Posted in International relations, Tourism industry at 3:48 pm by Robert Klien
Vice-President of Seychelles Joseph Belmont left the country for official mission to the World Travel Market (WTM) in London. The WTM is the largest annual travel show in the UK and one of the largest in Europe that was held on November 12-15, 2007.
Vice-President Belmont, in his capacity as the minister responsible for tourism, was leading a delegation that consisted of over 40 travel professionals representing over 20 companies and organisations from Seychelles. The delegation also included chairman and CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Maurice Loustau-Lalanne and other representatives of the STB.
A yearly business-to-business fair that concluded the event on November 15 attracted more than 45 000 travel professionals from more than 200 countries and regions.
Year 2007 was the 1st time Seychelles was represented at WTM by its new “Another World†brand. The new brand was launched earlier in 2007 at the ITB fair in Berlin, Germany.
It should be noted here that visitor arrivals from the UK and Ireland have shown an increase of 9% so far in 2007, which is a remarkable turnaround after a 3-year decline for the market until 2006.
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08.13.07
Posted in Tourism industry at 12:25 pm by Robert Klien
The Seychelles has been titled as the best island destination all across Africa and the Middle East by a well-known travel Travel and Leisure.
Travel and Leisure’s annual World’s Best Awards were released in the August 2007 issue of the magazine.
For the 3rd consecutive year the Seychelles was named the top spot out of all islands in the Africa and Middle East region. It was followed by Zanzibar and Madagascar.
On July 23, Seychelles’ Honorary Consul General, Lise Church, received the award at the World’s Best ceremony in New York.
The rating was based on surveys of Travel and Leisure subscribers held earlier this year. During the surveys, respondents evaluated the destinations, companies and properties from their recent travel experiences.
According to the Seychelles Tourism Board’s chairman and CEO, Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, the award was testament to Seychelles’ attractiveness even when destinations like Zanzibar and Madagascar are becoming more and more popular.
According to him, new “Another World†brand positioning launched in March 2007 does capture the reasons why it is so. He said, “In addition to our world class beaches, our new campaign shows that we have even more to share with our visitors, whether it’s hiking through mist forests, sailing around the various islands or discovering unique flora and fauna found nowhere elseâ€.
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06.19.07
Posted in Tourism industry at 3:22 pm by Robert Klien
According to the tourism industry officials, in recent years, Seychelles is turning into one of the top destinations for Bulgarian tourists attracted by exotic location and reasonable prices.
It is also important that Seychelles has a consulate in Sofia, which has been popularising the Seychelles islands as a tourist destination. According to Anna Butler Payette, chief of one of the biggest tour operators in the Seychelles – 7 Degrees South Ltd. tourist agency, the activeness of the Seychelles’ councilship is the main reason for the popularity of the destination.
7 Degrees South Ltd. is also one of the fastest growing tour operators in Seychelles, which focuses its marketing strategy on developing and offering new services and exploring the markets, where Seychelles is not represented as a tourist destination.
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