01.13.12
Posted in Business and Economy, International Organisations, Seychelles banking, Tourism industry at 6:46 pm by Robert Klien
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the 4th review of the Seychelles Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and will release USD 4.8 million. This was announced by Central Bank governor Pierre Laporte and principal secretary for Finance Ahmed Afif in a press conference held on January 12.
It was said that the IMF board is satisfied with the review carried out by its staff in November 2011 as “Seychelles has met all the benchmarks of its economic review programme under the EFF”.
According to Laporte and Afif, the IMF board has expressed concern about the potential impact on the tourism sector because of what is happening in Europe, which is the jurisdiction’s main tourism market, as well as because Air Seychelles has stopped direct flights to Europe.
In March 2012, the IMF mission is expected to return for the 5th review under the programme and then Seychelles is planning to have met set targets.
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10.22.11
Posted in Tourism industry at 1:36 pm by Robert Klien
On October 17, key tourism operators came together to discuss ways to increase numbers of visitor arrivals from South Africa.
The meeting was conducted by the general sales agent (GSA) of Air Seychelles in South Africa, Deon Fremantle, who was accompanied by some top tour operators that sell Seychelles as a tourist destination. The event was attended by the chairman of the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association (SHTA), Louis d’Offay.
The participants were informed that while an average 7 000 South African visitors came to Seychelles in 2010, Mauritius, the jurisdiction’s main competitor, received more than 81 000 tourists. The 2011 arrival figures to date compared to 2010 reflect a stagnation, however, in Mauritius this was up by 10%.
As to other competitors, Mozambique, Zanzibar, the Maldives and Thailand are offering similar products at significantly lower prices. Around 100 000 South Africans travel to Thailand a year. Visitor number to Maldives is just a few thousand, but it is growing by 35% since 2010.
Mr D’Offay said that it is necessary to clarify certain matters and learn more about the specificities of the South African market.
The South African tour operators present said that it is far easier to sell other countries, especially Mauritius and the Maldives. According to them, not only are hotels more expensive in Seychelles, but even rates of Air Seychelles are prohibitive. It costs more to fly from Johannesburg to Seychelles, than to the Maldives, much further away.
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03.23.11
Posted in International relations, Tourism industry at 1:53 pm by Robert Klien
Tourism board heads from Seychelles, Mauritius, La Réunion and Madagascar have held a meeting with German tour operators in order to discuss the concept of the Vanilla Islands.
The Vanilla Islands is an affiliation of Seychelles, Mauritius, La Réunion and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean aimed to form a new travel destination brand. The project is aimed at the co-operation founded on August 4, 2010 at La Réunion to join forces and market the region, which should be more efficient than the solely individual marketing of each island in the past.
The meeting was held during the ITB trade fair in Berlin and was attended by Seychelles Tourism Board chief executive Alain St Ange, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority director Dr Karl Mootoosamy, Ile de la Réunion Tourisme director Pascal Viroleau and Madagascar Tourist Office president Joel Randriamandranto.
As a result, a decision was made to launch the following activities to move the Vanilla Islands concept forward:
- to plan packages for the Vanilla Islands in collaboration with airlines flying between the islands – Air Mauritius, Air Seychelles, Air Madagascar, Air Austral, Air France and Corsairfly;
- to organise press trips to visit 2 or 3 islands in the group during April;
- to organise a Vanilla Islands roadshow in 3 or 4 German cities during May;
- to make a plan to train travel agents;
- to develop a website for the islands.
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02.25.11
Posted in Tourism industry at 5:29 pm by Robert Klien
A delegation from Seychelles has recently visited Brussels to attend the Pro-Fit Investment in Tourism meeting.
The event brought together members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the European Union-African, Caribbean and Pacific (EU-ACP) group. The meeting was held from February 15 to February 17. It was organised for the 14 Southern African countries by the group of SADC ambassadors in Belgium, with the support of the EU’s ProInvest programme.
Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association chief executive Jennifer Sinon, Seychelles Tourism Board deputy chief executive Elsia Grandcourt, and Sabrina Agathine, director of investment promotion at the Seychelles Investment Bureau, represented Seychelles at the meeting.
This event was aimed at promoting business partnerships and investment in the Southern African tourism sector, especially through tourism boards, professional organisations in the tourism industry as well as national investment promotion agencies.
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01.10.11
Posted in Seychelles' statistics, Tourism industry at 3:48 pm by Robert Klien
In 2010, Seychelles welcomed almost 175 000 tourists, which is another record for visitor arrivals.
This record is around 17 000 higher than in 2009. In 2009, as many as 157 541 tourists visited the jurisdiction.
According to Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) chief executive Alain St Ange, the number of tourists visiting rose sharply in 2010 as a result of teamwork by all stakeholders in the tourism industry. The increase may also be attributed to the hard work added to the STB’s marketing drive by Seychelles’ tourism ambassadors abroad.
However, St Ange noted that a rise in the number of visitors does not necessarily mean increased spending by them. This factor depends not on the STB but on the private sector. He stated that there is a need to maximise earnings from tourism.
A survey of visitors for the 3rd quarter of 2010 carried out by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that, among the different items tourists spent money on, restaurants were the highest apart from hotel bills and other hotel expenses. They were followed by excursions and souvenirs.
70% of the visitors surveyed came via tour operators, most of them came from Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. With 13 nights on average Visitors from Germany stayed in Seychelles longest, followed by those from Switzerland (12.9) the United Kingdom (11).
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09.17.10
Posted in Business and Economy, International relations, Seychelles government, Tourism industry at 11:25 am by Robert Klien
President of Seychelles James Michel made an official visit to Spain at the invitation of HE Mr. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, President of the Government of the Kingdom of Spain. During his two-day official visit, the President of Seychelles was accompanied by the Minister for Home Affairs, Environment, and Transport, Mr. Joel Morgan; the Secretary of State in the Office of the President, Mr. Barry Faure; the Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Mr. Alain St. Ange; and the Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association, Ms. Jenifer Sinon.
Seychelles President James Michel has met with the President of Spain, Vice Presidents, and members of the Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain. With the members of Confederation, President Michel discussed the potential for the territory to become a business hub for Africa. By words of the President, this meeting will deepen the relations with the private sector in Spain.
The President spoke to Prime Minister Zapatero about opportunities for Spanish investment in fisheries and tourism projects in Seychelles. Spain’s technical mission in Seychelles will study possibilities of the use of solar power on the islands.
During the visit, it was announced that Seychelles Tourism Board would be opening a tourist office in Madrid, which will be engaged in many promotional activities in Spain.
President James Michel also had an audience with His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Following this meeting he said that during the audience they discussed many issues of mutual cooperation, the special friendship between the Republic of Seychelles and the Kingdom of Spain.
Seychelles and Spain signed Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation, the second MOU on Fisheries Cooperation, and the Declaration of Intentions in the Fight Against Piracy. The agreements were signed by Seychelles Minister for Home Affairs, Environment and Transport Mr. Joël Morgan and the Spanish Minister for Defense Mrs. Carmen Chacón.
By words of President Michel, Spain is prime partner of Seychelles, and these agreements will help to consolidate their partnership and extend the collaboration between the countries.
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09.03.10
Posted in Business and Economy, Tourism industry at 2:34 pm by Robert Klien
At a tourism industry meeting which took place a week ago, the president of Seychelles James Michel called upon the tourism industry on the islands to engage with the government in order to work out a new national tourism development plan and promote his vision of the Seychelles Brand in the tourism sector.
The president called for greater Seychellois participation in the tourism industry, in the ownership of hotels, in employment, and in the supply of local products in the hospitality industry. By his words, the Seychelles Brand would be a new approach to the tourism development of the country.
The president said that the Seychelles Tourism Board will co-operate with the Planning Authority and the Licensing Authority to manage the country’s unique selling points in future tourism planning and licensing of establishments. A new quality assurance label will be issued annually to tourism establishments and services that guarantee “Seychelles Tourism Assurance” by the Seychelles Tourism Board.
Michelle said that the government decided to establish a body that will provide for better networking amongst all agencies working in the tourism sphere, will ensure harmony in common policies and standards, as well as better coordination and best practices.
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06.17.10
Posted in Diplomatic missions, International relations, Seychelles government, Tourism industry at 6:48 pm by Robert Klien
On May 15, during a reception held at the Coral Strand Hotel, ambassador of Russia Mikhail Kalinin said that Russian investment in Seychelles is growing rapidly. The reception was held to mark Russia’s National Day.
Mr Kalinin said that Russian investment in Seychelles’ tourism industry now tops USD 250 million. He also added that the government of Russia has approved 2 more hotels to be built by Russian investment companies. He also said that Russian businessmen are investing in the preservation of Seychellois sites of environmental, cultural and historical value.
Mr Kalinin said that there are much more opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation and they are to be explored. He called on Seychellois businessmen to establish direct links with their Russian counterparts who might offer many interesting projects important for the Seychellois economy.
According to the ambassador, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and President James Michel regularly communicate and exchange messages on different issues, and Russia and Seychelles hold identical or similar positions on the major international matters.
Mikhail Kalinin said that Seychelles is becoming more and more popular among Russian tourists. Visitors from Russia now hold 4th place among tourists in Seychelles with more than 8 500 arrivals in 2009.
Kalinin welcomed the graduates of the Soviet/Russian institutes present at the ceremony. One of them was Minister for Community Development, Youth, Sports and Culture Vincent Meriton, who read President James Michel’s message. The message said: “Seychelles and the Russian Federation have a long history of cooperation and I would like, on behalf of the government of Seychelles, to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for all the forms of help provided, particularly in the fields of education, sports, culture and health. We hope that we will be able to benefit from similar offers in the future,” said Mr Michel in his message.
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05.24.10
Posted in Tourism industry at 11:59 am by Robert Klien
According to the Seychelles Tourism National Council, the jurisdiction is expecting record tourist arrivals in 2010.
The marketing officer of the council, Alain St Ange, said that the number of arrivals for the 1st 4 months of 2010 represents a 13% growth over 2009 and a 1% growth over 2008. It is worth noting that in 2008 Seychelles registered the highest number of visitors.
The good performance of the tourism industry reflects that this economic sphere of the jurisdiction has resisted shocks of global economic recession and the recent threat to air transport by the Iceland volcanic ash.
St Ange explained such a good performance by the new tourism policy that is based on public-private partnership and the strategy of diversification of the source market. He claimed that the new tourism policy was a win-win strategy – this is where the state regulates the industry while the private sector drives the industry. Also, he stated that the Seychelles had succeeded to get farther from its dependence on the traditional European market.
The strategy has attracted such countries as South Africa, which has already become the 6th source market for the Seychelles. The South African market has the potential to exceed the number of arrivals twice as the Seychelles is a hub for visitors from other countries, especially those from the US, as well as from the Reunion, Kenya, India and China.
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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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