Tourism and biodiversity: the future of the Seychelles brand

VICTORIA, Mahé – The President of Seychelles attended the opening of the Seychelles Tourism Expo 2010 earlier today at the International Conference Centre (ICCS), which was aimed at celebrating touri

VICTORIA, Mahé – The President of Seychelles attended the opening of the Seychelles Tourism Expo 2010 earlier today at the International Conference Centre (ICCS), which was aimed at celebrating tourism and biodiversity during World Tourism Day, where he applauded the collaborations between the tourism and environmental sectors.

“I would like to congratulate the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) for this great initiative, which showcases Seychelles in this manner, especially given that tourism and biodiversity are very pertinent for our future,” the President commented.

President James A. Michel, who also currently holds the government tourism portfolio, added that “when we talk about the Seychelles brand, this is it.”

The Tourism Expo 2010, which was officially launched by the CEO of STB Mr. Alain St.Ange, also an ambassador for eTurboNews, boasted a variety of stands, which included Air Seychelles, STAR Seychelles, the Department of Environment, the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA), among many others, including exhibitions of works of art by local artists.

The expo also included the launching of Cousin Island as the world’s first carbon neutral nature reserve by the CEO of Nature Seychelles, Mr. Nirmal Shah, which is the result of a rigorous carbon footprint assessment and investment in high-quality carbon credits in order to offset that footprint.

“The carbon neutral initiative taken by Nature Seychelles is a very positive thing. It is the first such project in the world, yet again showing Seychelles’ leadership on environmental matters and conservation,” said President Michel, “our tourism industry depends on our ability to protect the natural beauty of our islands.”

The President also added that while Seychelles currently has the world’s highest percentage of protected area with Silhouette’s recent declaration as a nature reserve bringing Seychelles to 47 percent, he hoped to soon have over 50 percent of the country dedicated for protection.

The opening ceremony was also attended by the British High Commissioner, Mr. Mathew Forbes; the Secretary of State, Amb. Barry Faure, also currently the Chairman of the STB; among other representatives of the tourism and environment sectors.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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