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Message of Vice-President of Seychelles Joseph Belmont for the World Tourism Day___

‘Let us continue to enrich our tourism industry’

Vice-President of Seychelles Joseph Belmont, who is also the minister responsible for Tourism, has thanked all stakeholders for their continuous efforts in enhancing Seychelles' tourism industry for the future of the country and its children.

Vice-President Belmont's message on the occasion of the World Tourism Day Wednesday September 27:

The UN World Tourism Organisation’s theme for 2006 is ‘Tourism Enriches'. It is a theme that is very appropriate for Seychelles today. The tourism industry, one of the three main pillars of our economy, provides employment, social services and promotes the preservation of our national environment on which the industry itself is heavily dependent.

Over the past three decades the government has ensured that local entrepreneurs and the country as a whole benefited to the maximum from major overseas investment in the tourism industry.

Such investment has created an enabling environment for small businesses to flourish. It is through such home grown initiatives for small enterprises and family businesses that the industry was able to develop and prosper.

Tourism also has the potential to enrich our country even more in the years ahead, and this industry is timely for increased Seychellois involvement, not just within the hotels, but also in the many spin-off opportunities that will continue to come about in the process.

Tourism has served as a catalyst for many other social and economic developments. As the industry progresses, there is the need to improve infrastructure further to handle the influx and add value to our product.

In the area of human resources, we will continue to provide training to our workforce and to incorporate more Seychellois in senior positions in the industry. Our people have proven that given the opportunity, they can progress and succeed.

Enrichment is not only related to economic well being for in Seychelles the environment and local culture are highly valued.

Today almost 50% of our territory has been designated as protected areas and in our quest for perfection, we will continue to ensure that development on the 50% that is not protected is done in a manner that would ensure the protection and the projection of an exquisite Ecotourism Destination as a whole.

These core attractions are one of the main reasons tourists choose Seychelles as a holiday destination and one more reason to continue our quest in the protection of our natural and cultural assets.

To register more success in welcoming visitors to our shores, we must continue to undertake our mission with the bon accueil and warm Seychellois hospitality. Indeed it is the people who work in the industry who have the primary responsibility to shape unforgettable memories. Thus we need to provide services over and above expectations. We must all be proud of our country.

We must all uphold our values as a Creole nation and in the process we must all help each other – the only way to further success.

I would like to express our sincere thanks and gratitude to our local private sector partners, our foreign partners, the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the civil society and the Seychellois community as a whole for their continuous efforts in enhancing our tourism industry for the future of our children and the future of Seychelles.

Together, let us continue to enrich the industry, let us enrich Seychelles and let us enrich ourselves …