Seychelles Tourism Minister and Guam Senator meet during PATA summit

Founded in 1951, PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Organization) is a non-profit association internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of tourism to, from, and within

Founded in 1951, PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Organization) is a non-profit association internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of tourism to, from, and within the Asia Pacific region.

Hosted by the Guam Visitors Bureau, the 2016 PATA annual summit is a 4-day program consisting of the association’s executive and advisory board meetings, annual general meeting, and PATA Youth Symposium as well as a one-day conference that addresses major issues relevant to the travel and tourism industry in the Pacific region.

During the course of the working visit to the 2016 PATA Summit on the US island of Guam where he was invited to make the keynote address to some 600 delegates as well as participate in two panel discussions, Minister Alain St.Ange of the Seychelles also held talks with Guam’s Senator, Tina Muna Barnes, concerning tourism and travel matters.


The meeting between Senator Barnes and Minister St.Ange touched on future bilateral cooperation in raising the profiles of both Seychelles and Guam in the arena of international tourism.

“Guam receives 1.4 million tourists annually, primarily from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the US mainland, Russia, and China, all of which are emerging markets for Seychelles,” explained Minister St.Ange, “And so our presence at this summit has been invaluable in gaining an understanding of Far Eastern tourism markets and raising the visibility of our islands in this part of the world.”

Minister St.Ange also presented Senator Barnes with a copy of a diving book on Seychelles islands titled โ€œUnexpected Treasuresโ€ which has enjoyed considerable international success for its spectacular depiction of Seychelles’ underwater world. The presentation of the book to Senator Barnes was made as Minister St.Ange of the Seychelles ended his keynote address at the opening ceremony. The Minister also presented a book to Mario Hardy, the CEO of PATA.

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.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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