THE reputation of our country in the international arena is not what President Michel claims it is. Otherwise, why would the highly reputable World Economic Forum not include Seychelles in its 2008 Travel and Tourism Index Competitiveness Report?
Indeed, it appears that Seychelles has never been in any previous reports. On the other hand our neighbour and main competitor in the region, Mauritius, has been and is.
The 2008 Travel and Tourism Index places particular focus on the theme “Balancing Economic Development and Environmental Sustainability” both through a reinforced environmental component of the Index used to measure travel & tourism (T&T) competitiveness and through topics covered by the analytical chapters. The Report includes an analysis of the rankings of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI). It also features detailed profiles for the 130 economies covered, together with data tables for each indicator used in the Index's computation.
In spite of its perceived reputation as leader in environment protection in the world, if SBC and Government propaganda is to be believed, our country has somehow escaped the authors of the report, despite the fact that Ministers and the President himself frequently dropped the subject to impress visiting dignitaries and the population at large. It is not that Seychelles is not known to the Davos based organisation. In 2006 SBC told us that Rolph Payet, now President Michel's personal guru on environmental issues, was included as a candidate for its Young Leaders award. Of course we never heard anything further since and it appears that Rolph did not go to Davos earlier this year, if he has ever gone before.
The Index, however, did include a number of island states whose economies are directly based on tourism just as the Seychelles. Ahead of all of them is the Caribbean island of Barbados which ranked 26th in the overall index followed by Mauritius in the Indian Ocean which ranked 41. Barbados ranked 16 in the Travel & Tourism Regulatory Framework against 44 for Mauritius. But Mauritius is ahead at 27 for Travel & Tourism Business Environment and Infrastructure whilst Barbados ranked 32. However, in terms of Human, Cultural and Natural Resources, Mauritius ranked 89th against Barbados 46. At the top of the index is, unsurprisingly, Switzerland followed by Austria and Germany.
The TTCI was produced by the World Economic Forum in close collaboration with Booz Allen Hamilton (a global technology consulting firm), Deloitte (an international accounting firm), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). Most of the organisations responsible for the report are familiar to the Seychelles tourism industry.
Among all the island tourism destination countries Seychelles is the only one that does not have a functional currency. Tourists are not allowed to use the local legal tender currency the rupee in hotels and restaurant, thus making a mockery of the Central Bank Act. This directive, based on the foreign exchange regulations, directly contradicts the Central Bank Act 2004 which came into force on 1st January 2005. Article 18 (1) of the Central Bank Act says: Notes and coins issued by the Bank shall be legal tender in Seychelles by which, a debtor is legally entitled to discharge any monetary debt and a creditor is obliged to accept payment of any monetary claim. A bill submitted by a hotel or restaurant is a monetary debt for the customer and a monetary claim for the hotel.
The situation has turned from the sublime to the ridiculous with hotels insisting that Seychellois residents have to prove they are r bona fide Seychellois by providing their identification before payment is accepted in rupees. When challenged managements say they have received instructions from the Central Bank although no one has ever been shown such a directive. The so-called directive has now been extended to Restaurant. Most have taken the advantage of publishing their Menus in Euro and converting the amount at commercial bank rate thus exposing their Seychellois customers to the vagaries of the Central Bank.
Closer, in the region, the reputation of our country as a viable economy took another knock with the publication of a business directory by the business publication L'Eco Austral which featured La Reunion, Madagascar, Maurice and Mayote but not Seychelles. This is proof, if proof was ever needed, that President Michel’s administration does not have a clue what they are doing!