Tourism Ministers from Kenya and Seychelles meet in Germany

The friendly ties between Seychelles and Kenya date way back. Historically, many Seychellois traveled to Mombasa and Nairobi for work when the islands were still a British colony, and to date many Kenyans of Seychellois origin still like Kenya and work there. The two destinations are well connected by Kenya Airways.

Tourism Minister Najib Balala of Kenya and Tourism Minister Maurice Loustau-Lalanne of Seychelles met at ITB in Berlin. Kenya and Seychelles are both in what is considered the East Africa region, and both are known tourism destinations.

Present also at the meeting was Alain St.Ange, the former Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, who is now the Seychelles candidate for the post of Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

St.Ange is well known in the world of tourism. He comes from the private sector before being appointed to lead the islands’ Tourism Board as its CEO and later appointed Minister.

His long private-sector experience keeps him in touch with the tourism industry at large which was displayed by the number of endorsements he is accumulating since he threw his name in as a candidate for SG of the UNWTO.

Seychelles has Europe as their main tourism source markets and this keeps Minister St.Ange very close to European countries, and he remains a defender of tourism of Europe as he does for tourism worldwide. “Tourism in Europe needs to be defended. European countries as tourism destinations in their own rights, as they are tourism source markets for the world. The new SG of the UNWTO will need to be the facilitator for each and every tourism minister to help safeguard safety labels and in so doing protect tourism and air travel. This we can deliver by involving ministers of internal affairs, the press, ICAO, and airport authorities, etc. This will be a mission for me if I take over from Taleb Rifai,” said St.Ange who remains a defender of women’s rights, LGBT groups, people with disabilities, children’s rights, and who says that respect of people immaterial of color, creed, religion, politics and sexual preferences must and will be on his agenda at the UNWTO if he makes it at the May elections..