The strong points of the Seychelles economy have made four pages in the July edition of Khaleej Times, the Middle East business report magazine. On the tourism sector, the main pillar of the Seychelles economy, Khaleej Times has gone beyond what Seychelles is known for with the best in images of sand, sea, and sun. They went exploring into another of the USPs (Unique Selling Points) of the Seychelles, and that is the island’s natural tourism attraction: “Seychelles - botanical paradise.”

“The islands are blessed with an abundance of natural beauty, ocean, mountains, beaches, and tropical forests… back on shore, Seychelles is a pristine sanctuary for diverse species and flora and fauna. The islands are home to an exciting and diverse birdlife that can be discovered in the wild or in specially-designed reserves…” wrote Khaleej Times international correspondents.

With more than two thousand varieties of tropical and equatorial plants, Seychelles as a glorious haven, takes its role as a living natural history museum very seriously. This is why almost half of its limited land area has been proclaimed as nature reserves and spelled out in the Khaleej Times as “picture perfect, heavenly, secluded… the one and only Seychelles is the only true Paradise on Earth.”

Besides developing an eco-friendly tropical niche market, Seychelles islands continues to offer a balmy respite not only to visitors of temperate zones, but for those seeking a place to recreate and rejuvenate.

The twin factors of easy access to and from the islands and an expansion in the number of international airlines serving the destination, cultivated a tourism market for Seychelles driven by the impulse to bathe in “its truly exquisite beaches, such as Anse Lazio and Anse Georgette, both appearing on the top ten list of the world’s best beaches,” located on Seychelles’ second largest island, Praslin, also an endemic wildlife sanctuary to one of the archipelago’s two UNESCO’s World heritages, Vallee de Mai.

La Digue, Seychelles third largest island, offers a case study of where tourism development has evolved differently compared to the other islands. One can observe the harmonization between nature and culture, where visitors are “transported back in time” described the Khaleej Times.

“Seychelles,” quotes the Khaleej Times, “represents an archipelago of timeless beauty, tranquility, and harmony that is famous for its world beating beaches and great diversity, which rolls from the lush forests to the warm azure ocean…”

“Such amenities,” explained the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St.Ange, in a transcribed interview given to Khaleej Times correspondent, “are today being protected by a government that remains good custodians for what we have been blessed with, and that remains serious in protecting these natural assets that continue to attract visitors to our shores.”