Alain St. Ange

The Seychelles has recently restructured its tourism portfolio and the country’s president, Mr. James Michel, has been instrumental in establishing a strong public/private sector partnership. The industry has applauded his appointment of Alain St. Ange as the new CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board and of Barry Faure, who also serves as Secretary of State, as the new Seychelles Tourism Board chairman. The restructure places tourism directly under the President’s office. Travel Market Report's Geri Bain recently caught up with St. Ange for an update.
 
What are the main attractions of the Seychelles to each of its key visitor markets?

Seychelles’ main attractions are its breathtaking, pristine Nature; the diversity it offers across a broad spectrum of 115 islands, both granitic and coralline; and a growing number of niche activities that already include fishing, sailing, romance, island-hopping, walks and trails, spas and golf, combined with the authenticity of the Seychelles Experience in the land of perpetual summer where harmony is a way of life.

How many people visit the Seychelles each year?

The figure for 2009 was 157,000. 2010 is looking promising with arrivals standing at 93,231 as of July 18. This is showing a 12% increase over 2009 or a 8% increase over the 2008 figure which was a record year for Seychelles.

Why did President Michel appoint you and restructure the agency?

President Michel appointed me in order to send a strong signal to the trade, stakeholders and the travel industry at large that Seychelles tourism was being placed in the hands of the private sector with government acting as facilitator. My mission is to streamline tourism structures and bring all the resources of the country to bear in order to capture maximum market share.

How is the marketing/product strategy changing? 

In a nutshell, we are diversifying our approach, consolidating our existing markets and moving into new ones. Attracting increased airlift and ensuring maximum diversity in the products we offer. The Affordable Seychelles Campaign has made Seychelles more accessible to a new demographic of visitor while new, tactical, lightweight campaigns such as ‘From the Big Five to the Best Five’ are targeting visitors to the African continent on twin-hub vacations.

What are the main hurdles you face?

One challenge is Seychelles’ relatively small tourism budget which is why we need to make the best possible use of all our resources such as our newly created Seychelles Tourism Ambassadors [Seychelles Nationals living abroad who are natural promoters of the country] and create new synergies with the private sector and other government agencies to achieve maximum clout.

Do you anticipate any changes in air service/pricing?

Competition will bring reviewed pricing structures. For this to happen we need to ensure that the visibility of Seychelles has been strengthened across our key markets. Demand needs to increase for competition in Airlines to become possible. We are now working on these.

Do you anticipate progress on a hotel grading system and what is being done about unofficial accommodations?

Hotel Grading is important but it needs to reflect a Seychelles Brand for us to keep our unique selling points and our ‘creole characteristic and charm’. We have to first concentrate on growing the Seychelles Tourism Cake, then move to establish this Seychelles Brand of Tourism. Illegal accommodation is an unfortunate evil which needs to be tackled.  We need very heavy fines to be introduced to deter those involved in such a practice and we need to take the problem seriously to eradicate it for once and for all.

What effect has the much publicized piracy in the region had on the Seychelles and how are you reacting to this?

Like many countries bordering the Somali Basin, Seychelles, with is vast EEZ (exclusive economic zone) of a million square miles, has been affected by sporadic, opportunistic piracy in some regions. We have reacted robustly and I am proud to say that Seychelles has become an important hub in the international fight against piracy. In collaboration with the ATALANTA forces and those of the European Union and other partners we are constantly upgrading our judicial, military and infrastructural capabilities to fight this scourge. The region is affected because the idea of pirates sends the wrong vibes. We must nevertheless appreciate that in Seychelles, our visitors do not see pirates nor feel the effects of the pirates problem.

Why did you choose to open an office in the UK?

The UK is one of our traditional and most-valued markets. Seychelles enjoys a great deal of common history with the UK having once been a colony and visitors from the UK have long enjoyed holidays in Seychelles dating back a very long time. We see the UK as a market of great potential and realized that it was most important to have a strong presence there. The British people know Seychelles and the beauty of this ex-colony of theirs, we now need to ensure that this knowledge is turned into bookings to visit our Creole tropical islands.

How did the trade receive the news?

The trade were happy to see Seychelles move back into the UK. The local trade sees this move as a revival of their traditional market and the British Travel Trade sees this move as a backup for their efforts, a back up right at their door step.

Where else do you have tourism offices or plans for them?

We now have Seychelles Tourist Offices in France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, the Middle East, Singapore and in China. We shall keep on working to consolidate these offices and then spread our visibility further afield. With regards for overseas offices, we are currently working on our future plans and in the near future we should be able to make new announcements.

How important are travel agents to the Seychelles and how do you support them?

Travel Agents are very important for the Seychelles. They are the front line staff who meet our visitors and who can guide our visitors to our shores. We value their support and will continue to look at ways and means to better prepare them to really know Seychelles. These will be done through educational visits and through special packages for trade visits.

Is there anything else you’d like travel agents know?

Travel Agents should know, if they don’t already, that Seychelles remains that destination with a difference. We are an all year round destination offering unrivalled swimming, the best white sandy beaches, and a diversity of islands including granitic and coral islands, making Seychelles a twin center holiday in one. We also have diversity in our population where the rainbow nation concept comes alive.

Seychelles has no winter and enjoys what is called perpetual summer and has no cyclones, no diseases (such as malaria, yellow fever, cholera or other common tropical diseases, so no special vaccinations are required unless visitors are passing through infected regions) and no one requires a visa to travel to Seychelles. Seychelles is a mid ocean group of islands and our unique location has kept us isolated and protected.