Minister Alain St.Ange of the Seychelles Ministry responsible for Tourism and Culture, said in a statement issued as Indaba 2016 closed that the official side of the working visit to South Africa was good. “South Africa is a tourism source market for Seychelles, but South Africa is also a neighbor and one we enjoy excellent relations with,” said Minister St.Ange as he used the opportunity to invite South Africans to make Seychelles their holiday destination of choice.
The Hon. St.Ange was invited to join Minister Michael Mabuyakhulu, the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs for KwaZulu Natal, to address the opening ceremony at the province’s stand at the INDABA Tourism Trade Fair of South Africa. The Seychelles Minister was invited to walk with Minister Mabuyakhulu as he toured the different pavilions that made up the KwaZulu Natal stand at Africa’s premier tourism trade fair. This followed the official address by Minister Mabuyakhulu where he challenged KwaZulu Natal to move to make the 2016 INDABA the success the province needed for South Africa. The MEC for Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs for KwaZulu Natal also introduced the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture and invited Minister St.Ange to also address the opening launch of the KwaZulu pavilion in the presence of a large contingent of South African and world press.
The bilateral meetings with Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom of South Africa and Minister Michael Mabuyakhulu, the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs, among others, were good and strengthened the positive working relationships that we have already. Meetings with the other African tourism ministers – Hon. Mabuza from the Kingdom of Swaziland, Hon. Likeleli Tampana of Lesotho, Hon. Anastancia Ndhlovu of Zimbabwe, Hon. Ruffin Bayambudila, Hon. Guy Matondo Kingolo of The Democratic Republic of the Congo (RDC), the Minister from Angola, and the other MECs from different South African provinces also opened new doors of cooperation.
On the Seychelles stand at Indaba, David Germain and Lena Hoareau were assisted by the current Miss Seychelles, Linne Freminot. They said that they enjoyed the visit of a steady flow of tour operators and travel agents and answered queries concerning Air Seychelles and air access, new operators looking for DMCs, and those looking for hotel updates and meetings. Erica Tirant of the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Hotel and Casino said that she was kept busy and was happy with her participation.
Minister Alain St.Ange of the Seychelles said that he also found interesting the panel session moderated by Richard Quest of CNN and saluted South Africa for standing up for to scrutiny. “South Africa Minister Hanekom and his deputy minister faced a barrage of targeted questions during the panel discussion. This public event showed that South Africa had reached a level of political maturity and transparency. The discussion on and Africa brand was also interesting, and when Richard Quest of CNN sought my views on the matter in the televised debate, it was an opportunity for me to air that Africa needed to work with Africa and not only be subjected to the negatives of being part of the continent when there were turmoil or epidemics,” the Seychelles Minister told the press.
This panel discussion by Richard Quest also provided the Seychelles Minister Alain St.Ange the chance to meet privately with the CNN personality, and Ailsa Pringle the CNN Account Director for Africa. Richard Quest also followed up this meeting by a visit to the Seychelles stand where he took a picture with Miss Seychelles Linne Freminot.
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.
