Editorial by Mr Alain St Ange
This issue of your E-News is covering the Annual General Meeting of the Tourism Industry's Association and the 2008 elections for the Board to manage the Association for the year 2008/9. The re-election of Mr. Louis D'Offay as Chairman of the Industry's Association for a second term will ensure continuity in the work started. The election showed the appreciation, by all the Industry Members, for the devotion and for work undertaken on their behalf, and for the Industry as a whole, by Mr. Louis D'Offay. Read more about the AGM and about the 2008 elections. On behalf of the Tourism Industry we also welcome all the elected Members of the Board, and also Mr. Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, the Chairman & the CEO of the Seychelles Tourist Board and Mr. Albert Payet, the Chairman of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce & Industries for having accepted their nominations as Ex-Officio Board Members of the Tourism Industry Association. This comes as we print a Message to the Industry in this issue of our E-News from Minister Danny Faure, the Seychelles Minister of Finance and Designated Minister. We thank Minister Faure for his Message and for his continued support for our Industry and for his understanding of our Industry. This working spirit of togetherness in all involved in the Tourism Industry is now entering a new dimension, and Seychelles can only benefit from this move.
A complete list of the Executive Committee elected for the 2008/9 year is published in the section 'About Us'. See who everyone is and what they do by clicking open that section. To-day I need to echo my personal appreciation for the work of Mrs. Bernadette Willemin, the Directrice of the Seychelles Tourist Board's Paris Office for the successful Seychelles Escapade 2008 Tour of France. Read more about the fifth year episode of this dedicated promotional tour for Seychelles in which I personally participated. We have in this issue written a note at the bottom of the front page of our E-News for the Press Community only to reconfirm that articles appearing in our E-News can be used freely.
The many requests received up to now, for permission to use articles that we have published, has prompted us to write this blanket permission for the Press Community to use our articles freely. Your emails requesting permission has made us proud and we thank you all, 'Friends of Seychelles', for taking up our messages and telling the World about them. The many comments received about articles from the last issue have also prompted the Editorial Board to dedicate a page of the E-News for Comments and extracts from the Letters received Keep them coming.
We appreciate comments from the Tourism Trade, local and overseas, and from all our readers and we can only reassure you all that we shall continue to echo the sentiments of the trade, especially when they are points that are in the interest of our industry. Some of the many comments on the Vice President's Message, the question of making Victoria Livelier, the Plantation Club's closure and on the eviction of the Marine Charter are published in the Comments & Letters page read more. It is evident that these topics have raised a lot of emotions and we shall follow them up again in future issues. But important news just received is that the Omani Consortium awarded the contract as the developers of the Waterfront Project have accepted to negotiate with the Marine Charter Association to ensure that this important facility remains in Victoria.
New Investments in the Tourism Industry and the need for everyone in that fragile trade to be united for Seychelles is the appeal made by the Chairman of our Industry's Association in an article to be published in the June bumper issue of Sir James Mancham's 'Seychelles Review'. This same call will remain a point for discussion the new Board of the Seychelles Tourism Industry's Association will be making over and over again during the course of this year. Read more about this appeal. The publicity stunt on the Matt Lauer from NBC's “The Today Show” coordinated by Creole Travel Services will be good for Seychelles. Read more on this PR exercise.
The Seychelles Tourism Industry is pleased to be welcoming back Mr. Kris Seeboo to our shores. He was previously the General Manager of the Beachcomber Sainte Anne Resort and he is remembered as having been a serious member of the Industry and one who was involved in the work of our Association. The appointment of Mr. Seeboo as Project Manager for the Emirates Hotels Project has been communicated to E-News by Mr. Tony Williams, the Senior Vice President for Emirates Hotels & Resorts, the premier hospitality management division of Dubai-based Emirates Airline. Read more on this latest appointment. The Seychelles Tourism Industry has been duly informed of the decision of Beachcomber Tours UK of their decision to only sell Beachcomber Hotels. This news saddened members of the industry who had developed a close working relationship with this important UK operator. For the sake of Seychelles and of its Tourism Industry, it is hoped that this formula will not be followed by other hotel groups involved in Tour Operating businesses. This Beachcomber UK decision reinforces the need for every player in the Seychelles Tourism Industry to be united, and for everyone to decide to spread the news about their own business through their Association's own publication.
Let us all decide to strengthen our E-News publication, let us keep it interesting with industry information, and let us all support it through adverts. Let us also decide to help by getting more email addresses for the email bank of addresses. This will ensure that we reach the set target of ten thousand subscribers sooner rather than later. This week many in the Association were suffering with the sudden departure of Jacquelin Lablache. He was not only the Seychellois credited to have opened commercial fishing to Seychelles, but it was known that he was also working on a small tourism development for his property at Anse Reunion at La Digue. E-News, on behalf of the Seychelles Tourism Industry takes this opportunity to presents to his wife, Merna, daughter Isabelle and son Christophe our sincere sympathy.
Finally let me again thank you again for all your encouragement and for all your support. Back issues can always be viewed on http://www.seychelles.net/sha/. This E-News remains a publication of our Country's Tourism Industry for our Country's Tourism Industry. Use it and make it work for you by forwarding it to all you know.
I can today confirm to you all that this issue of our E-News will be sent to 6951 subscribers and today I can also confirm that because of all the requests received, we shall, as from the next issue, our Issue No 5, be including a page in French with highlights of all published articles.
Sincerely,
Alain St.Ange Editor