Tourism viewed as wealth for communities in the eyes of Seychellois children

Winners of the drawing, essay, and poem competitions organized for schools as part of activities to mark this year’s Tourism Week have been rewarded.

The competitions were held under the theme “Tourism: Our communities’ greatest wealth,” which was the local theme chosen to mark Tourism Week.

The aim of the competition is to get the students’ views and perceptions on whether tourism is viewed as a wealth in the communities.

A poem competition was open for all primary and secondary schools, while a drawing competition was for the primary students only.

The essay competition was open for the secondary and post-secondary students.

For the drawing competition, Bel Eau primary students clinched all three winning prizes. Samuel Melanie was the first prize winner, followed by Elisha Barbe in second place, while Diandra Ernesta settled in third position.

Aurelie Bradburn was judged as the best in the essay category, while Stephie Monnaie won the second prize. Eryn Poupouneau received third prize in this category.

At the primary level in the poem category, Sunjai Kannan of Year 4 at the International School Seychelles was the only winner.

In the secondary category, English River School student Allisen Savy’s poem won the first prize, while Peter Simeon of Belonie Secondary settled in second position, and third prize went to Elisa Simeon of English River Secondary.

Speaking at the prize-giving ceremony held at the National Cultural Centre, Deputy Chief Executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Nathalie Didon, said the students who have taken part in the competitions have surely put their thinking caps on and the array of work presented was truly breathtaking.

“Today, their works show us that our future leaders know that tourism is everyone’s concern, and they are willing and able to do whatever it takes to safeguard it,” Nathalie Didon said.

“They have indeed grasped the importance of tourism as an essential pillar of the economy. They have realized that we need to up our games and no longer go about our regular business, thinking that our dazzling sea, white sandy beaches, and greenery are enough to keep any tourist happy,” said Ms. Didon who was speaking in the presence of students, teachers, and “Miss Seychelles… Another World” 2014.

Seychelles is a founding member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) .