Tourism Board of Seychelles launches new diving book

The Seychelles Tourism & Culture Minister, Alain St.Ange, formally launched the Seychelles Tourism Board’s latest addition to its suite of coffee table books on the destination during the press conference aboard the island’s luxury fast ferry “Cat Cocos” on April 24.

This most recent publication, “Seychelles: Unexpected Treasures,” is a coffee table book featuring a stunning selection of photos that showcase Seychelles as a diving destination and is already being hailed for the quality of its production.

The photographer behind the book’s extraordinary images is Singaporean Nikon Professional Photographer, Imran Ahmad, one of the rising stars of the international photography scene with a growing reputation for his innovative technique.

The project was born out of a perceived need to produce a book to showcase the attributes of Seychelles as a diving destination via a spectacular suite of images, many of which were taken on and around the UNESCO World Heritage site of Aldabra.

Alain St.Ange and Tourism Board Chief Copywriter and Consultant, Glynn Burridge, collaborated to produce the book, bringing their co-authorship of Seychelles’ coffee table books to four editions. The Tourism Board’s Production Department’s Michel Agrippine and Graphic Designer Eileen Hoareau also offered their expertise, ensuring that the book was produced with the requisite level of excellence.

Such is its quality that “Seychelles: Unexpected Treasures” is being entered in an international competition for excellence in printing by Emirates Printing Press who printed the book and also in another international competition for books on diving by the photographer, Imran Ahmad.

“This book is a collector’s item and is destined to grace the homes of diving aficionados the world over,” claims co-author Glynn Burridge, “and it will do a great job in promoting Seychelles both as a dive destination and as a place to visit. It has also given us the idea of producing a similar edition on the destination in general, using the same approach.”

The book was launched in front of some 140 members of the international press attending the 2014 Carnaval International de Victoria where copies were on display aboard the fast inter-island ferry “Cat Cocos.”

Alain St.Ange, the co-author of the book and Minister of Tourism and Culture of the Seychelles, said that the book today stands tall among any collection of dive books. “We are proud to have collaborated to bring out such a selling tool for Seychelles. We, of course, thank Imran Ahmad for the use of his most stunning photographs. Today, because of this great coffee table book, more people than ever before can appreciate the underwater world of Seychelles,” said Alain St.Ange.

After the official launch of the book, photographer Imran Ahmad presented Minister Alain St.Ange with a framed autographed print of the picture used on the cover of the book.

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