India will welcome a tourism-led delegation this weekend

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Avatar of Linda Hohnholz
Written by Linda Hohnholz

A twenty-plus delegation from the Seychelles tourism and business community are traveling to Delhi and Mumbai this weekend for different meetings that are set to help position the islands as a holiday

A twenty-plus delegation from the Seychelles tourism and business community are traveling to Delhi and Mumbai this weekend for different meetings that are set to help position the islands as a holiday destination for Indian holidaymakers. On Wednesday afternoon, members of the Indian Association of Seychelles met with Minister St.Ange at his offices at ESPACE to put final touches to the Seychelles delegation’s program in the two Indian cities they will be visiting next week.

The delegation from the Seychelles traveling to India is being led by Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture, and he will be joined by Waven William, the Seychelles High Commissioner accredited to India, and will include Sherin Naiken, the CEO of the Tourism Board; Benjamine Rose, the PS for Culture; Gilbert Faure, the CEO of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority; V.J. Patel, the Chairman of the Indian Association of Seychelles and head of VIJAY Constructions; Marco Francis, the Chairman of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industries; Ramakrishnan Pillay, the CEO and Chairman of the Pillay R. Group; Shanmouga Pillay of Kannus; Narendra Raghvani of Sahajanand Builders; Narasimhan Ramani, a Chartered Accountant & Company Secretary; Pravin Darad, the Managing Director of Allied Builders; Rose-Marie Hoareau, the Director of Marketing at the Seychelles Tourism Board; Manish Jha of the Avani Resort; Savio Perera of 7 Degrees South; Tekla Maira of Raffles Praslin Seychelles; Amian Roy of Coral Strand Smart Choice Hotel; Gaurai Rai and Prahlad Singh Chauhan of Le Relax Management Limited; Komal Seth and Aletiya Sing of Beachcomber Group of Hotels; Manas Sinha of Banyan Tree Seychelles; and Pascal Viroleau, the CEO of the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands Regional Organization.

In Delhi, Minister St.Ange will join Minister Shripad Naik, the Indian Minister of State for Tourism with responsibility for Culture, and Sagar Ahluwalla, the Secretary General of PATWA, and other ministers of tourism from different Indian states to address the PATWA Seminar on Tourism. Madan Prasad Bezbaruah, the Asia Representative of the UNWTO [UN World Tourism Organization], and Sujit Banerjee, the Secretary General of the WTTC [World Travel & Tourism Council] will also be joining the meeting.

A Seychelles roadshow is also planned where tourism trade partners of India will meet Seychelles tourism operators who are traveling to India to get themselves and Seychelles more known. A series of B2B networking sessions is also on the program for the Seychelles delegation.

Minister St.Ange and Gilbert Faure of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority will also be received by the Indian Minister responsible for Civil Aviation at his offices at Safdarjung Airport, and with Sherin Naiken, the CEO of the Tourism Board, and Benjamine Rose, the PS for Culture, they will be received by Minister Shripad Naik, the Indian Minister of State for Tourism with responsibility for Culture, in his offices at Parliament Street in New Delhi.

Mr. Kalraj Mishra, the Indian Minister responsible for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise, will receive Minister St.Ange and his delegation at his offices at Rafi Marg in New Delhi.

A meeting with the Chamber of Commerce of India as well as a private meeting with Darlong Thanglura, the former Indian High Commissioner in Seychelles, also appear on the program for the Seychelles delegation as they are in India.

In Mumbai, Minister St.Ange and his delegation will meet with Rakesh Mishra, the Vice President of the Mumbai Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party; the Youth President of the BJP, Yuva Morcha; a number of film producers; and the Indo-African Chamber of Commerce and Industries before a series of one-on-one interviews with the Indian media.

Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture, who is expected to deliver a series of addresses at the different organized forums and meetings said that the Seychelles Tourism Board felt it was time to launch their drive in India now that Air Seychelles is planning to re-start direct flights to India. This visit comes barely a year since the launch of the first edition of the Seychelles-Indian Day in October 2013.

A five-person group from the National Cultural Troupe under the leadership of Marietta Matombe will also be traveling to India to provide entertainment during the various tourism events and functions. Members of the Indian Association of Seychelles have come forward to sponsor the traveling costs for the dancers of the National Cultural Troupe.

“We are thankful for the support by members of the Indian Association of Seychelles who are working closely with us in the organization of this working visit to India. The Seychelles High Commissioner, Mr. Waven William, has personally been coordinating the different planned meetings, and we are today sure that this trip will bear fruits for Seychelles and for those who are traveling with us to India,” said Minister St.Ange.

India is an important tourism target market for the Seychelles Tourism Board.

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

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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