Alain St.Ange collaborates with global tourism experts in Egypt, celebrating Sharm El-Sheikh’s designation as Safest Tourist Destination in the world 2024, highlighting sustainable practices and visionary leadership under Major General Khaled Fouda.
Honoured to have been invited as a known Tourism Personality to join forces with Dr. Jens Thraenhart and Theodore Koumelis in Egypt as Sharm El-Sheikh is declared the “Safest Tourist Destination in the world” for 2024.
As the Seychelles former Minister responsible for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine of the Seychelles and head of the ‘Saint Ange Tourism Consultancy’ I joined Dr. Jens Thraenhart, the former Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office to the CEO of Visit Barbados, and as the 2nd Vice Chair of the UNWTO Affiliate Members Board who is now the Founding Partner of Chameleon Strategies and Theodore Koumelis, the Co-Founder and Managing Director TravelDailyNews Media Network who like me were invited to Egypt to address the ceremony recognizing Sharm El-Sheikh as the “Safest Tourist Destination in the world” 2024 by the African-Asian Union (AFASU) and Major General Khaled Fouda, the South Sinai Governor as the “Man of the Year” Award .
As part of the three tourism experts, part of the African-Asian Union (AFASU) Team on the ground headed by its President Dr Hossam Darwish and Major General Hossam Badr El-Din, the Secretary General of the Union, I can say that it was a great honour and privilege that we gather here today to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable achievements in tourism development, in Sharm El Sheikh, the City of Peace. These words we echoed as tourism experts on the ground at the event to the press after the award ceremony that saw several Egyptian Ministers and Senior Government Official seated in a packed banqueting hall with private sector business and tourism trade leaders.
As members of the Awards Committee, it was our duty to recognize and commend the outstanding efforts of Major General Khaled Fouda, Governor of South Sinai, for his exemplary leadership and dedication to advancing tourism in the region. We have witnessed an amazing transformation of the city in the last few years with the implementation of smart technologies and sustainable practices. We proudly presented the AFASU Gold Award to Major General Khaled, recognizing him as the “Man of the Year” for his exceptional contributions to the development of Sharm El Sheikh as a premier tourist destination. Under his leadership, Sharm El Sheikh has flourished, earning the esteemed AFASU award for the safest tourist destination to visit in the world. This achievement is a testament to Major General Fouda’s visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to creating a smart and sustainable city and ensuring the safety and security of all visitors to the region. Furthermore, we recognized the city of Sharm El Sheikh for its dedication to sustainability, energy conservation, and the safety of tourists. Through initiatives aimed at sustainability, clean energy adoption, and the implementation of smart technologies, Sharm El Sheikh has emerged as a beacon of responsible tourism practices. These efforts align closely with the mission of the African-Asian Union (AFASU), which seeks to promote and reward policies and best practices that drive tourism, economic prosperity, and community development were the words that were echoed in the speeches.
I was in Sharm El-Sheikh only months ago and met Major General Khaled Fouda, the South Sinai Governor and can add that in the Governor saw a leader who always displayed ‘humility’. “I had the honour of sharing a podium with the Governor at another event and saw a person who never missed the opportunity to go after what would be good for Egypt and the People of Egypt as he displayed his unconditional love for his country.
Alain St.Ange is the Seychelles former Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine who now heads his own ‘Saint Ange Tourism Consultancy’.
Many International magazines and press have covered him when he was still in office as the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine but the man, is now more active than ever with tourism consultancy work with Tourism Boards, Ministries of Tourism and the Private Sector Trade across our great continent of Africa and also in the ASEAN Block who has even been contracted by the World Bank to work alongside Ministers of Tourism in Africa to assist in the relook of their tourism industry.
Alain St.Ange is remembered for many things among which is the massive increase in visibility for his Seychelles islands which he succeeded through developing a positive relationship with the International Press and by turning the Seychelles into a cultural events-based tourism destination over and above showcasing its key USPs: - sun, sea and sand. He was successful and that translated in recognition by the world of tourism and the press fraternity which in turn helped to deliver increased in visitor arrival numbers. St.Ange and his Team in Seychelles never missed an opportunity in those days to spell out that success was visibility, visibility and visibility because otherwise the destination would simply fade away. He is recognised for never leaving a stone unturned in that mission for Seychelles .
