Seychelles is the home of the respected and popular former tourism minister. Seychelles that sits in the Indian Ocean was propelled to success by their former Minister St.Ange when things got tough in 2009.
It is now being watched by the world of tourism as St.Ange participates in conferences right around the world talking tourism and the need for togetherness as re-opening of tourism is starting and the COVID-19 lockdown is being eased.
Last week St.Ange was the first tourism personality to address the rebuilding.travel webinar attended by some three hundred experts from right around the world.
Alain St.Ange said to the community of nations:- “
“Coronavirus arrived without invitation by anyone. It made politics, borders, and regions become irrelevant. Not a country, not a zone, but the entire world is in trouble. No matter if you ride a cruise ship or a rowing boat, we need to go through this storm together. The community of nations has to come together.
Europe and the U.S. are making sizable money available to respond to this unpredictable crisis. Europe and the U.S. must realize this is a global problem.
Here in Africa, all 54 Countries must rally together. The African Tourism Board took a lead in creating PROJECT HOPE as a response for Africa. All of us in the world have to look at the entire picture, not at continents, countries, or villages.
Dr. Taleb Rifai, chairman of PROJECT HOPE and me as the vice-chair are looking forward to upcoming important announcements soon.”
Alain St.Ange is an active member of the PROJECT HOPE that meets weekly and will be addressing the world on the 28th May as part of Africa Day 2020 Celebrations alongside other leaders from the African Continent.
About the 28th May Conference Cuthbert Ncube, the Executive Chairperson of the African Tourism Board said:- Africa is a birthplace of humankind, this is where our umbilical cord lies buried deep within. This continent ignited human’s imagination whilst some of the oldest rock art in the world are inscribed on the rocks in Africa.
Layers of mineral treasures are still buried in the belly of Mother Africa. Come join us in celebrating Africa Day on 28 May 2020 and proudly explore in appreciation of the precious gift God gave us unparalleled to any other”.
For tourism today it is the track record of Alain St.Ange that makes him a recognised tourism figure and one the world of tourism is following as the COVID-19 challenges that had brought tourism to its knees and the economy of every single member of the community of nations into disarray starts to enter the era of the ‘new normal’.
Alain St. Ange is still today referred to as the ‘Mr. Tourism of the Seychelles’ and this connotation is understood when looking back at his long and distinguished career in the industry that culminated over the last 12 years with appointments as Director of Tourism Marketing at the Seychelles Tourism Board, Chief Executive Officer at the Seychelles Tourism Board, Minister of Tourism and Culture and then Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine.
Before his surprising Ministerial appointment St.Ange was a known Opposition figure but accepted to serve the country in what was to become the first appointments based on expertise and not purely of political affiliations.
It is remembered that James Michel, the island’s President at that time was faced with a troubled economy with tourism dropping fast in visitor arrival numbers. That was in 2009 and the Seychelles private sector trade headed by Louis D’Offay called on the Government to look at tourism under a PPP (public private sector partnership). Government was at the time looking at up to a 25% drop in tourism arrivals which would have been an economic disaster for the island republic.
This is when Alain St.Ange entered the scene and Seychelles never looked back as the islands entered a new age of visibility with their Minister respected as a natural leader on the world stage.
St. Ange retired from his government position to run for Secretary General of UNWTO where he was let down by his own government when they withdrew their support at the eve of the election, bringing the well orchestrated campaign to a sudden end.
St. Ange sued the Seychelles government over this misguided action and won his case, though appealed the level of damages awarded to him.
St. Ange now runs a global tourism consultancy and in that capacity remains a much sought after keynote speaker for global aviation and tourism events and has stated his intent to stand for President of the Seychelles when the elections are called later in the coming months.
He is the President of the “One Seychelles” Political Party and preparing for the party to contest the 2020 Presidential Elections and the following National Assembly Elections.
Alain St.Ange served in the island’s People’s Assembly in 1979 after winning the elections for the La Digue electoral constituency and again re-entered the National Assembly in 2002 after winning the elections for the Bel Air electoral constituency as an Opposition Candidate.
The world of tourism is suffering and many tourism destinations are searching for their own marketing juggernauth to guide the situation on hand and Seychelles is an example everyone is watching because St.Ange is seen as being as active today as he was as the island’s sitting Tourism Minister.
Seychelles remains the idyllic mid-ocean group of islands blessed to be a year round tourism destination and is part of greater Africa and a founding member of the Vanilla Islands organization, which brings together Reunion, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, the Comoros and of course the Seychelles.
Formed in 2012 and seen as a brainchild of St.Ange who was then elected as the First President of that regional organisation and he remains the only one who was elected to serve a second back-to-back mandate.
Tourism Ministers and Governments in many countries see the Seychelles as a destination which in a massive marketing juggernaut over the past decade began to punch way above her prior status. Many of the sitting tourism ministers in Africa and beyond in fact look at the Seychelles for inspiration and guidance, as they are working on their own recovery strategies.
Seychelles tourism started in earnest in 1972 with the opening of the island’s International Airport by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth as the Seychelles remained a British Colony up to 1976. James Mancham, the founding father of the Seychelles is remembered as the charismatic personality who pushed the tourism agenda and was a passenger on the first BOAC Super VC10 flight on the 4th July 1971 that opened the Seychelles International Airport for commercial flights.
The tourism industry of Seychelles then recorded sustained growth up to the global financial crisis in 2008, when a drop in arrivals of nearly a quarter was anticipated before active countermeasures were devised as the archipelago’s private sector took over the lead role at the tourism board with Alain St.Ange in the driving seat.
That year ended with the loss of just a few hundred arrivals compared to the previous year, albeit at the expense of tariffs being discounted.
During the period between 2009 and 2019 did the Seychelles set new arrival records year after year, to a large extend triggered by a publicity coup through the launch of the Seychelles International Carnival in 2011 which over the following couple of years then brought the global media spotlights on the islands and making it into one of the world’s most desired island tourism destinations.
Keeping close to the tourism industry’s key stakeholders but also the workers in the sector – many of whom have been laid off or sent on leave – gives St. Ange the insight needed to understand their concerns and needs of both staff and owners / operators, many of whom have been left bewildered by initial government announcement of a support package, only to be confused by different statements of line ministries tasked with the implementation.
St. Ange is seen to have the proven competence to bring tourism out of the doldrums and revive the industry and set it on a recovery course which will return the island’s global status while being recognized as a safe destination as he demonstrate to greater Africa and the world of tourism as a whole the art of being able to think outside the box and to lead when the going gets tough.
