Following an open letter published in the Seychelles NATION on July 25, 2019 addressed to the Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Didier Dogley, from the chairperson of the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association (SHTA), Sybille Cardon, a meeting was held to discuss issues raised in the letter.

The meeting, held on Friday August 9, 2019 at the Botanical House, Mont Fleuri, was chaired by Minister Dogley and in attendance were the minister responsible for Employment, Myriam Telemaque, the principal secretary for tourism, Anne Lafortune, as well as the board members of the SHTA.

The meeting addressed each point in a systematic manner commencing with the concerns of the SHTA regarding the increase of anti-social behaviour and petty crimes.

Minister Dogley stated that these are indeed pertinent concerns that are currently posing real threats to the tourism industry and to the Seychellois society in general.

He emphasised that the significance of these matters has been brought to the highest level of the police force and assurances have been given that the police will be reinforcing their efforts.

Over the years, government has been investing significant amount of resources in controlling and preventing the importation of controlled drugs into the country and to complement this regulatory approach, there are various socio-based outreach programmes, education and awareness being instilled in our population regarding the dangers of drug abuse. These efforts have been further strengthened through the creation of APDAR, an entity fully dedicated to tackling the drug problem at its root causes and rehabilitating those who have been affected. Government has recently gone a step further by restricting the sale hours of alcohol and designating certain places like the centre of Victoria, alcohol free zones.

Minister Dogley agreed that Seychellois as a nation are law abiding citizens but unfortunately like in all societies, there are always some who believe their constitutional rights allow them to stomp on the rights of others. While there are some police officers who are clearly doing their work diligently, there is a strong need for the police force to enhance the current resources, training and recruitment as a whole, in order to achieve a more effective enforcement of the laws. These should target those who flout the laws of the country, impact on quality of life of others and pose a threat to the tourism industry. As highlighted in the multi-sectoral meeting on Friday August 9, 2019, government is committing more resources to the police force to strengthen their technical capabilities, to prevent, investigate and solve criminal cases.

With regard to the concerns of SHTA relating to mass tourism, Minister Dogley clarified that traditionally, Seychelles has always been against mass tourism and this position currently stands. Although, there has been a growth in the number of airlines coming to Seychelles, the number of rooms has not increased to the extent that the country can accommodate large numbers of visitors. He emphasised to members that government has no plans to turn Seychelles into a mass tourism destination for the simple reason that the Seychelles islands are relatively small coupled with the limited infrastructure and a sensitive and fragile ecosystem, which cannot cater for a large influx of visitors. The moratorium on the construction of large hotels in excess of 25 rooms from 2015-2020 has greatly restricted the increase in the number of visitors. Furthermore, Destination 2023, the new tourism strategy and action plan clearly spells out the kind of visitors that Seychelles as a destination is aiming for. It goes on to provide a sustainable figure of 4 percent increase in visitor numbers per annum, over the next 5 years. Additionally, SHTA has been allocated seats on the National Steering Committee and its technical bodies where its representatives will have ample opportunities to participate and contribute towards its implementation. Furthermore, the Seychelles Tourism Board is in the process of elaborating its new marketing strategy where again, opportunities will be given for the members of SHTA to participate and contribute.

As for the concerns pertaining to the national airline, Minister Dogley explained to members of the SHTA that government’s position, as was equally highlighted by SHTA, is for Air Seychelles as the national airline to be financially viable while serving Seychelles as a touristic destination and offering affordable domestic air accessibility between the islands. Since the liberalisation of air transportation in Seychelles our national carrier has had to compete with up to 14 other airlines. It was pointed out that Air Seychelles is going through a transformation plan which will hopefully enable it to achieve its objectives. With the introduction of the first A320 NEO, the airline has reached a key milestone in that process and with the arrival of the second one in May next year, it will be well on its way to achieving its goals. The minister confirmed his engagement in working collaboratively with the association and looks forward towards progressive discussions in these matters with both the association and the management of Air Seychelles.

In light of the concerns raised regarding Shannon College and STA students, Minister Dogley highlighted that human resource development is central to the development of the tourism industry. He stated that Seychelles being a country with limited human resources cannot afford to leave anyone behind. The Seychelles Tourism Academy has been very successful in training young Seychellois for the sector. Every year, an average of 180 students graduate from the Academy with qualifications in housekeeping, front office management, food and beverage and other niche leisure services. Minister Dogley invited members of SHTA to work collaboratively with the ministry in order to determine how to sustain the recruitment factor, improve the training, and promote potential work attachment programmes in order to keep these young people in the sector.

He noted that the Shannon hospitality training programme has been very successful of which some of the students have excelled and have even topped their cohorts. To accompany them, the department of Tourism has set up a Mentors Committee, with the general managers, human resources managers and representatives of the Shannon graduates represented on the committee. The committee has been instrumental in solving several outstanding issues and there is a better understanding between the parties involved. Recently, the committee has endorsed a two-year self-development programme for the graduates upon their return, which will lead to their appointment to managerial positions.

In order to address sustainability matters, the minister affirmed that the ministry is highly committed to promoting and supporting the trade in shifting towards the adoption of sustainable practices, which are not only important for the image of the country but also embodies economic growth while striving for greater environmental stewardship. The Seychelles Tourism Sustainability Label (SSTL), which has been developed through support from the Global Environment Facility, is a vital tool to this end and Minister Dogley appealed to members for support in promoting the label. Government has initiated a number of incentives to provide access to affordable financing for investment in energy and water conservation and renewable energy technologies. E-mobility is another area that has benefitted from tax concessions. Some of the programmes are under the Seychelles Energy Commission and others under SeyCATT and Seychelles Development Bank.

The minister availed himself for further discussions with the association in collaboration with all relevant agencies.

Another point on the agenda was the cost of operations, where Minister Dogley stated that this matter was discussed at length in the first multi-sectoral meeting with the minister responsible for Finance at the beginning of the year.   In the meeting, the minister agreed to consider some of the proposals put forward by members of the association and others. He also agreed to present some adjustments during the course of the year. In this regard, such requests will be raised again with the Ministry of Finance in a future meeting.

In regard to the employment of foreign labour and related procedures such as GOP and Certificate of entitlement, Minister Telemaque and her delegation engaged in discussions with the SHTA members present. The meeting provided an excellent opportunity for both parties to clarify their positions and together find win-win solutions. Although they could not find solutions for all issues, it was agreed for both parties to continue engaging in meaningful discussions to solve outstanding matters.

Going forward, it was seen that the sector can only make progress when there is a joint effort between the public and private sectors to address existing and emerging issues together. The benefits derived from this very critical sector is one which after all is shared by all of us and the ministry remains fully committed towards working with the SHTA and other tourism associations in building a tourism industry, which is strong and prosperous.

Complements of Seychelles NATION