Seychelles Minister: Sports tourism a niche well worth following

Meeting tennis stars at the official opening of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy was an opportunity to also discuss with Jérémy Chardy, ranked 33 on the world tennis ATP list, and confirm his coming to Seychelles shortly.

Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Jérémy Chardy, Thomas Enqvist, and Henri Leconte are just some of the many tennis stars who had gathered at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy for the official opening of the facility belonging to Patrick Mouratoglou.

In mid-November of this year, Jérémy Chardy and his partner will do a safari beach combination that will enable them to discover the Seychelles after a break in Zambia. “We chatted about options, and we shall work with them to ensure they enjoy their Seychelles break. We also discussed with the other tennis stars and placed the seed for them to put Seychelles on their travel list. The same was done with Patrick Mouratoglou who was also offered a coffee table book about the Seychelles,” said Minister St.Ange.

The star-studded event at the Beachcomber French Riviera Resort & Spa and its Mouratoglou Tennis Academy was an opportunity for the Indian Ocean islands of the Seychelles and Mauritius to pursue sports tourism as a new niche market, as they met stars, press, and those on the who’s who list to keep their islands visible. The Grand Opening of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy coincided with this year’s French Tourism Trade Fair of Paris, and the star-studded event was seen as an opportunity for Alain St.Ange, the Tourism and Culture Minister of the Seychelles, and Gilbert Espitalier-Noel, the CEO of the Beachcomber Hotel and Resorts Group, who was being accompanied by Francois Venin, the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Beachcomber Hotels and Resorts, and Arnaud Martin, the President of the MTPA , the Mauritius Tourism Promotional Authority, to join the entire tennis sport celebrities and champions attending this much-awaited opening ceremony.

The whole international sports medias as well as politicians and of course world-wide influential people gathered for the Grand Opening of the Mouratoglou Academy.

Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Jérémy Chardy, Thomas Enqvist & Henri Leconte with Seychelles Minister Alain St.Ange

The French press had been saying that this was going to be the biggest French event since years and years. Minister St.Ange said that for the Seychelles, this event is coming at a perfect timing when all eyes are glued on tourism with the French Tourism Trade Fair of Paris to again position Seychelles on the French tourism market. “This is our main source market, and as we are looking at again increasing direct nonstop flights with Air Seychelles between Paris and Seychelles, we need to leave no stones unturned in our work to continue to claim our fair share of this important market,” said Minister St.Ange, before adding that developing sports tourism is interesting for Seychelles, because the islands have perfect facilities, perfect all-year-round summer weather, and have the most pleasant of environments. “We cannot say it often enough, but in the troubled world we are living in today, Seychelles remains a safe tourism destination, and we are a visa-free country. We now need to only to get on the sports celebrity circuit. Being present at this grand opening of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy is just timely,” said the Seychelles Minister.

For more information on Seychelles Minister of Tourism and Culture Alain St.Ange, click here.