Seychelles and Reunion to develop tourism and culture exchanges

Minister Alain St.Ange of the Seychelles held separate meetings with Yoland Velleyen, the Interim Mayor of Saint Paul, and also with Azeddine Bouali, the President of the Federation Reunnionnaise de Tourisme, on a recent working visit in Reunion.

Minister Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture, was on Reunion Island this week with ministers from the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands Group. During his short stay on Reunion, Minister St.Ange used the opportunity to work on developing cultural and tourism exchanges with Reunion.

Following this working visit, Seychelles and the town of Saint Paul in Reunion is now set to work on a joint cultural partnership with the Department of Culture and through that invite the Patrick Victor Cultural Foundation that was launched recently to be part of this new level of cooperation as representatives of the private sector trade in the arts.

During his official mission in Reunion, as part of the Vanilla island Ministerial Meeting, Minister Alain St.Ange, the Minister for Tourism and Culture, and Yoland Velleyen, the Interim Mayor of Saint Paul, discussed a joint cultural partnership between the town of Saint Paul and Seychelles.

Minister St.Ange proposed the signing of a Cultural Memorandum of Understanding between the Culture Department of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the town of Saint Paul. “This bilateral agreement between the Culture Department of Seychelles and the town of Saint Paul will pave the way for cultural artistic collaborations and exchanges between the town of Saint Paul and the Seychelles,” said Minister St.Ange.

Yoland Velleyen, the Interim Mayor of Saint Paul hailed the proposal of Minister St Ange to ink a cultural agreement between the town of Saint Paul and the Culture Department of Seychelles dashing that the town of Saint Paul represents the “cradle of culture.” Cultural relations are already growing steadily between Seychelles and Reunion Island, and the signing of this MOU is scheduled to take place in Seychelles in the coming weeks. Bernadette Honore of the Seychelles Tourism Board’s Reunion Office was also present at this meeting.

A second MOU in the field of tourism is set to be signed around the same time also in Seychelles between the Federation Reunnionnaise de Tourisme following the meeting held in St. Denis with Azeddine Bouali, the President of the organization. Under this MOU, the Federation Reunnionnaise de Tourisme will attach a number of the Information Offices staff to the Seychelles Tourism Board’s Information Offices to see the meet and greet at Seychelles International Airport, at Victoria Harbour when a cruise ship is in port, and at the Victoria Information Office. In return, a number of the Seychelles Information staff team will also travel to Reunion for an attachment period.

A second part of this MOU will also look at the creative industry of Seychelles, especially at the handicraft business to help offer new opportunities to the Seychelles handicraft small businesses.

Minister Alain St.Ange said as he left Reunion that these two MOUs will bring direct benefits to the consolidation of the tourism industry of both Seychelles and Reunion.

For more information on Seychelles Minister of Tourism and Culture Alain St.Ange, click here.