Vanilla Island Tourism started 2020 with challenges

Vanilla Island Tourism starts 2020 with challenges
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Avatar of Alain St.Ange
Written by Alain St.Ange

The Vanilla Island Region is tourism cooperation between Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion Island, Seychelles

The recent shark attack that took place on Praslin island, Seychelles as a visitor was enjoying an early evening swim has made news headlines right around the world; a sad and rare shark attack resulted in her arm being amputated. Nature comes with its own challenges, but seeing a shark so close to the beach shows that either the shark population is increasing, or that potentially overfishing has resulted in reduced food stock for our larger predators, brining them coming closer to shore for their meals

Experts in Seychelles are no doubt discussing the incident and analyzing the cause for what happened, but one thing we can do and should be doing is ensuring positive news about Seychelles,

Air Mauritius was forced to halt air traffic as cyclone Calvinia was approaching as was announced during the last days of 2019. This affected Flights from Mauritiusโ€™ main airport to Rodrigues, and all flights into and out of the island following the closure of the international airport. Tropical cyclone Calvinia passed the island with wind speeds of between 111 and 129 miles per hour, making it a category 3 cyclone.

For Madagascar, it was being discussed that Air Madagascar had reportedly lost the interlining agreement with Air Mauritius.

Air Seychelles continues to suffer from passengers connecting through Mauritius en route to Reunion as they cannot check-in their luggage all the way through and need to complete immigration and customs formalities in Mauritius and then recheck in again for an Air Austral onward flight.

Three Vanilla Islands still cannot cooperate to promote two or three island combination is a real let down to the region’s tourism industry.

The second challenge for the tourism industry as a whole is the recent escalation of tension in the Middle East and the GCC region where the military head of Iran lost his life.

Seychelles like many tourism-dependent countries has important airlift through that region that connects them and us to major tourism source markets.ย  Oil prices are already going up and maybe the start of trying moments for everyone.

About the author

Avatar of Alain St.Ange

Alain St.Ange

Alain St Ange has been working in the tourism business since 2009. He was appointed as the Director of Marketing for Seychelles by President and Minister of Tourism James Michel.

He was appointed as the Director of Marketing for Seychelles by President and Minister of Tourism James Michel. After one year of

After one year of service, he was promoted to the position of CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board.

In 2012 the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands regional Organization was formed and St Ange was appointed as the first president of the organization.

In a 2012 cabinet re-shuffle, St Ange was appointed as Minister of Tourism and Culture which he resigned on 28 December 2016 in order to pursue a candidacy as Secretary General of the World Tourism Organisation.

At the UNWTO General Assembly in Chengdu in China, a person who was being sought after for the โ€œSpeakers Circuitโ€ for tourism and sustainable development was Alain St.Ange.

St.Ange is the former Seychelles Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine who left office in December last year to run for the position of Secretary General of the UNWTO. When his candidature or document of endorsement was withdrawn by his country just a day before the elections in Madrid, Alain St.Ange showed his greatness as a speaker when he addressed the UNWTO gathering with grace, passion, and style.

His moving speech was recorded as the one on the best marking speeches at this UN international body.

African countries often remember his Uganda address for the East Africa Tourism Platform when he was a guest of honor.

As former Tourism Minister, St.Ange was a regular and popular speaker and was often seen addressing forums and conferences on behalf of his country. His ability to speak โ€˜off the cuffโ€™ was always seen as a rare ability. He often said he speaks from the heart.

In Seychelles he is remembered for a marking address at the official opening of the islandโ€™s Carnaval International de Victoria when he reiterated the words of John Lennon famous songโ€ฆ โ€ you may say I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one. One day you will all join us and the world will be better as oneโ€. The world press contingent gathered in Seychelles on the day ran with the words by St.Ange which made headlines everywhere.

St.Ange delivered the keynote address for the โ€œTourism & Business Conference in Canadaโ€

Seychelles is a good example for sustainable tourism. This is therefore not surprising to see Alain St.Ange being sought after as a speaker on the international circuit.

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