Mauritius Institute of Training and Development echoes praises Seychelles Tourism Minister

Harmon Chellen, the Training Centre Manager at the Mauritius Institute of Training and Development, and the Ecole Hoteliere, Sir Gaetan Duval, was in Seychelles last week as guests of honor to address the graduation ceremony at the Seychelles Tourism Academy in the presence of Vice President Danny Faure of the Seychelles; Alain St.Ange, the island’s Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture; Anne Lafortune, the PS for Tourism; Sherin Naiken, the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board; and Deepak Balgobin, the Director of Human Resources & External Affairs of the Mauritius Hotel Group “Shanti Maurice.”

The Seychelles Tourism Academy has been making its mark in the field of training not only for the needs of the tourism industry of the Seychelles, but it has also embarked on an ambitious diploma in Hospitality Management program for succession planning at the management level for the hospitality industry of Seychelles. Claude Narain, a known and very respected tourism and hospitality professional from Mauritius, was the former Chairman of the Board of the Ecole Hoteliere, Sir Gaetan Duval, of Mauritius and is today the Patron of the Seychelles Tourism Academy. Mr. Narain has been working closely with Falvien Joubert, the Principal of the Seychelles Tourism Academy, and his involvement as Patron has been really appreciated by Seychelles.

After congratulating the academy on their achievements and after wishing the 2014 cohort of students graduating from the Hospitality Management program, Mr. Harmon Chellen showed that the ties of friendship between Mauritius and Seychelles was solid and based on nothing less than mutual respect. Mr. Chellen, the Training Centre Manager at the Mauritius Institute of Training and Development, and the Ecole Hoteliere, Sir Gaetan Duval, praised the accomplishments of the Seychelles and congratulated the work undertaken by Minister Alain St.Ange, the island’s Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture.

Mr. Chellen said: “Today, I can see that your Institute has grown by leaps and bounds, and all was achieved within a few years thanks to the whole team of the Tourism Academy, the stakeholders, the hotel partners, and above all to the Honorable Minister of Tourism and Culture, Mr. Alain St.Ange for supporting and believing in the Seychelles Tourism Academy. Minister, as Past President of Iles Vanilles, how you have worked passionately to move the concept forward. You are a very dynamic Minister of Tourism who has at heart the development of the tourism industry for the SIDS [Small Island Developing States] in our region. I seize this opportunity to congratulate you and your officers for the successful organization of the carnival which has become the highlight in this part of the world and am convinced will become a major event on the tourism calendar of the Indian Ocean.”

In ending, Mr. Chellen wanting to motivate the graduation students read a quote from the famous American writer, Mark Twain, which said: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

When he met the press after the graduation ceremony, Minister Alain St.Ange said that he appreciated the words echoed by Mr. Harmon Chellen. When he was asked to comment about his achievements Minister St.Ange simply took the quote of Mark Twain that was read out by Mr. Chellen and said: “Twenty years from now I will not be disappointed by the things that I didn’t do, but may be disappointed by the ones I did not have the support to complete.”

PHOTO (L-R): Harmon Chellen, Minister Alain St.Ange, Vice President Danny Faure, Deepak Balgobin

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