(eTN) – The recent reshuffle in the Council of Ministers of the Seychelles has brought about a new Ministry of Tourism and Culture. This was seen as a departure from the past where the Vice President and President, respectively, who had held for many years the portfolio for tourism, that industry that is recognized as being the pillar of the Seychelles economy.
President James Michel of the Seychelles used his mandate as the one holding the portfolio for tourism to launch the “Seychelles brand” of tourism for these mid-ocean islands. He said when he launched his vision for the island’s tourism industry, that he wanted to get the Seychellois people to claim back their industry by being themselves more implicated. He facilitated the entry into the hotel industry of some 150 small entrepreneurs when he announced an amnesty for those who had been trying to open guesthouses but had been caught in bureaucratic red tape. President James Michel brought into the government as his CEO of the island’s Tourism Board the known and respected private sector tourism and hospitality professional, Alain St.Ange. Together as a team they re-launched the island’s tourism industry with the undivided support of the tourism private sector’s backing.
Alain St.Ange crisscrossed the world promoting the Seychelles and was seen addressing conferences and forums in the four corners of the globe, and in so doing, he did put Seychelles firmly on the tourism map of the world. The dreamy mid-ocean islands had woken up, and they faced the turbulent and volatile tourism with new vigor. Alain St.Ange, working directly under the guidance of the island’s President, is credited with re-launching the island’s tourism industry at a time when the key tourism markets were suffering from their own economic woes.
Last week, President James Michel of the Seychelles named the same Alain St.Ange as his new Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture. The appointment was well received in the tourism world, and many industry and trade publications have come out with articles and reports on this appointment, saying that Seychelles is leading the way with a tourism professional appointed to lead the industry at the highest level.
The new Minister St.Ange has been busy getting acquainted with his Department of Culture as he settled down the Tourism Board now under the control of a new CEO, Mrs. Elsia Grandcourt. She has been working as the Deputy CEO attached to Alain St.Ange, and both have been seen together at different world tourism fairs and events. Last year, they were seen at the World Routes Forum in Berlin when they made their country’s bid to host Routes Africa 2012. It was Elsia Grandcourt who had been mandated by her then CEO, St.Ange, to personally follow all formalities behind the Seychelles bid. Seychelles has recently received confirmation that they have been awarded the rights to hold Routes Africa 2012 and this important forum of airlines, tourism boards, and civil aviation authorities is set to bring to the African continent the attention of the triangular approach to tourism and air access. Elsia Grandcourt is also a hotel person by profession.
On the culture side, it was Benjamine Rose who has been promoted to the post of Principle Secretary (Culture) in the new Ministry of Tourism and Culture. She was until then the CEO of the National Arts Council. The Department of Culture is a challenge in itself as it covers culture in the broader sense. The island’s archives, museums, Heritage Foundation, National Arts Council, libraries and School of Music, Dance & Drama, among others, are all part of the responsibilities of Benjamine Rose in the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.
“There cannot be a consolidated tourism industry without the island’s culture being showcased. We shall work as a team to unlock all the cultural potentials of our country as we empower our ‘Celebrate Seychelles Events Department’ to position Seychelles firmly into the world of events and as we also empower the Tourism Board to consolidate our traditional core markets as they work to also diversify our tourism industry at the same time,” Minister Alain St.Ange said.
