Seychelles Tourism Minister St.Ange to be honored as world tourism leader

It has been confirmed that at the African Diaspora World Tourism Awards taking place in Atlanta, Georgia, in the USA, Minister Alain St.Ange of the Seychelles will be honored as a world tourism leader.

Minister Alain St.Ange of the Seychelles has received a letter of invitation to attend the African Diaspora World Tourism Awards taking place on April 15-17 in Atlanta and was chosen as an Honoree to be inducted into the African Diaspora World Tourism Hall of Fame for all the work he has done in cultural heritage tourism.

“This letter is an official request for your presence at the African Diaspora World Tourism Awards (ADWT-Awards) and Travel Expo to be held in Atlanta, Ga. on April 15-17, 2016 at the Westin Atlanta Airport (4736 Best Road, Atlanta, Ga). We are inviting you as a VIP – Guest of Honor for the awards gala that begins at 7pm on Saturday, April 16, 2016. You will be inductee as an Honoree in the ADWT Hall of Fame, and you are set to receive an award for the Seychelles Carnival. The awards ceremony is a world-class event honoring movers and shakers in black cultural heritage tourism. Dignitaries, notables, professionals and cultural heritage and travel enthusiasts from all over the world will be in attendance. This ADWT-Awards gala is a formal event with celebrated actor/philanthropist Afemo Omilami as the Master of Ceremony. Co-hosts for the ADWT-Awards week-end are Evita Robinson Founder of renown Nomadness Travel Tribe and Sebrena Kelly, Founder of Global Caribbean -American Business Connections. The ADWT-Awards week-end will consist of two special luncheons, two gala dinners, a travel forum, travel expo and cultural entertainment along with the official awards ceremony,” said Kitty J. Pope, the Founder/Director of the ADWT-Awards.com and AfricanDiasporaTourism.com and Dr. Babs Onabanjo, the Executive Producer/Producer of ADWT-Awards.com and Co-founder/CEO of ADKingFoundation.com in their letter to Minister St.Ange of the Seychelles.

During the same event in Atlanta in the USA, the Pan Africa and African Travel Expo will be taking place where destinations, businesses, and organizations will be able to showcase and promote their products. An official Hall of Fame Luncheon will also take place where accomplished in black cultural heritage tourism will be recognized and inducted into the African Diaspora Tourism Hall of Fame.

Minister Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture, said to the press once the news had broken that he was going to be honored in the USA as a world tourism leader, “My work in the field of cultural heritage tourism has been recognized, and the letter I have received has confirmed that I will be receiving an award for the Seychelles Carnival. Our cultural events have been receiving more and more recognition right across the world, and this has brought visibility for our islands and has ensured Seychelles remains relevant in the world of tourism. As small as we are as a country, we have still been able to stage an annual carnival every April that has caught the eye of the world. This is a success for Seychelles and for every Seychellois,” said Minister St.Ange.

African Diaspora World Tourism Awards of the USA is being presented by AfricanDiasporatourism.com, an online magazine exploring black culture and heritage worldwide, in association with Atlanta’s AD King Foundation, a non-profit organization promoting peace and non-violence. The African Diaspora World Tourism Awards & Travel Expo, the first of its kind, was founded by African Diaspora Tourism, Publisher Kitty J. Pope, who serves as the Director and Executive Producer of the event. ADWT-Awards co-presenter is Dr. Babs Onabanjo, CEO of the AD King Foundation, who is the founding Producer.

Helping to present the 2016 ADWT-Awards event are Rev. Eugene Franklin, Founder/CEO and Chair of the Pan African Cultural Heritage Initiative and Ikechi Uko of Nigeria, Publisher of African Travel Quarterly and Akwaaba Travel Expo.

Supporting the 2016 ADWT-Awards event are two African royalties, Queen Best K. Olimi, the Mother Queen of the Tooro Kingdom of Uganda, and Senator Princess Florence Ita-Giwa, a royal dignitary and government official of Nigeria. Both ladies serve as ADWT international Honorary Chairs along with sister-in-law of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Ms. Naomi King, co-founder of AD King Foundation; and noted international humanitarian, Joe Beasley, founder of the Joe Beasley Foundation, both of whom were chairs for the inaugural ADWT-Awards event. International chairs for this year also include Dr. Ewart Brown, the former Premiere of Bermuda; Lou D’Amore, Founder/President of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism; and Dr. David Fleming, Director of National Museum Liverpool.

Alain St.Ange is a tourism personality who is respected in his field, writes Phoebe Irving from the UK as she writes about this latest award received by the Seychelles Minister.

Few people are as passionate, accomplished, and respected in their field as Alain St.Ange, Seychelles Minister of Tourism and Culture. Since taking office in 2012, and with his prior roles as Director of Marketing and later CEO for the island’s Tourism Board, St.Ange has been responsible for increasing Seychelles’ visibility in the global travel and tourism industry. He is a firm believer in the promotion of Seychellois culture as a central tenet of the country’s tourism growth and development.

Born on October 24, 1954 on the island of La Digue, St.Ange spent much of his youth on his family’s agricultural estate, primarily dedicated to vanilla and coconut plantations, before pursuing his formal education at the Seychelles College in Mahé. He later continued his studies in Hotel Management in Germany and Tourism in France. Afterwards, St.Ange held several positions in the hospitality field throughout Seychelles, the Channel Islands, and Australia, eventually managing key properties in Seychelles and ending his resort management days with the Denis Private Island. In addition to his extensive experience in the hospitality industry, St.Ange’s upbringing led him into politics, as his father, Karl St.Ange, was an influential political figure during the early years of Seychelles’ independence.

In 1979, St.Ange was elected as a member of the People’s Assembly for the La Digue Constituency for the Seychelles People’s Progressive Front, and in 2002, a member of the National Assembly for the Bel Air Constituency for the Seychelles National Party. Following that, he was appointed as the Seychelles Director of Marketing in 2009, and in 2010, promoted to CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board. In 2012, St.Ange was elected as the first President of the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands Regional Organization, an affiliation comprised of island nations within the Indian Ocean, aimed at forming a new tourism destination brand. That same year, he was also named by Seychelles President James Michel, as the Minister of Tourism and Culture. In 2013, St.Ange was elected to the Board of the United Nations World Tourism Organization Executive Council.

As part of his service to Seychelles tourism, St.Ange has worked endlessly to establish the tropical island as one of the world’s most attractive and visible travel destinations. In 2015, Seychelles hosted the World Travel Awards and the Africa & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony, welcoming industry leaders and celebrating cultures from across the region. By the end of year, Seychelles recorded nearly 275,000 annual visitors, establishing a 19% increase over 2014 figures and setting a new record for Seychelles with its 89,000 total population. Similarly, as a direct result of St.Ange’s close work with the Seychelles Tourism Board, the country has seen a significant increase in capital investments from resorts, hotels, and destination management companies.

With a major focus on championing the world’s diverse cultures and peoples, St.Ange created the Seychelles Carnaval International de Victoria in 2011, which has come to be known as “The Carnival of Carnival.” Now in its sixth year, the annual, three-day event, held every April in the capital of Victoria, invites the countries of the world to showcase themselves and celebrate their unique cultures side by side through fun, carnival floats and festivities. The event continues to attract visitors and widespread publicity to Seychelles every year.

The Seychelles Minister of Tourism and Culture, St.Ange, has received numerous awards and honors, including Key to the City Award from Tuskegee Alabama (USA) and Honorary Citizen of Sioux City Iowa (USA), the Global Achievers Award at the 34th International Congress of NRIs in Delhi India, becoming the Ambassador of Reunion Island, receiving the highest Order of Commandeur de L’Ordre National from the Republic of Madagascar, receiving the Grand Maitre de L’Ordre by the Comoros, the Mahatma Gandhi Honor Award (2014) for his work in strengthening Indo-Seychelles relations, a Plaque of Honor from the House of Lords in London (2015), and most recently, the Tourism Eminent Achiever Award in Africa (2015). He has also authored and co-authored several books about Seychelles, including: Seychelles, What Next? (1991); Seychelles, In Search of Democracy (2005); Seychelles, The Cry of a People (2007); Seychelles, Regatta 2010 (2010); Seychelles, Enters The World of Carnival (2011); Seychelles, Remembers Karl St.Ange (2011); Seychelles, The Coco-de-Mer (2012); Seychelles, Festival of the Sea (2012); Seychelles, State House (2013); and Seychelles: Unexpected Treasures (2014).

While carrying on his efforts to improve tourism in Seychelles, St.Ange remains an in-demand speaker and collaborator at worldwide industry events and conferences. “There is still a lot for us to do for our tourism industry, for the Indian Ocean, for tourism in Africa, and for safeguarding tourism as the industry that continues to make a difference in the lives of millions across the world,” he said.

St.Ange is married to Ginette Michel of Les Mamelles, Mahé, and has two daughters, Christine and Michelle.

Seychelles is a founding member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) . For more information on Seychelles Minister of Tourism and Culture Alain St.Ange, click here.