Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture used his stopover in Dubai to meet the press at the Emirates Meridien Transit Hotel to update them on the islands’ tourism industry.

“The last time I met with you all here in Dubai, as the then CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board, I said that Seychelles remained the tourism destination that continued to attract visitors from all over the world, because we are the destination with unique attractions appealing to every nationality. Today, as the island’s Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture, I want to say that we remain that same destination ready to welcome visitors from everywhere. In Seychelles, NO ONE requires a visa to enter. We are friends of all, and enemies of none, and as one of our friends, we cannot ask you to get a visa to visit us,” Minister St.Ange said with a smile.

The Seychelles Minister then went on to congratulate his Seychelles Tourism Board, now under the leadership of Elsia Grandcourt, for the continued successes in consolidating the islands’ tourism industry. “She is everywhere, raising the visibility of our islands. Yesterday she was in Singapore, and tomorrow I am meeting her in China to participate together at ROUTES ASIA 2012, because she is in July bringing to Seychelles for the first time ever in our region, ROUTES AFRICA 2012. My appeal is to you to tell the world that the airline, civil aviation, and tourism board forum, called ROUTES AFRICA 2012, is taking place in Seychelles this coming July,” Minister St.Ange said.

Seychelles is recording a remarkable increase in their visitor arrival numbers with last week’s official figures showing a 12 percent increase over the same period last year. “The reason for this is because the Tourism Board worked hand in hand with the island’s private sector to diversify the Seychelles main tourist markets. Today, remarkable increases in visitor arrival numbers are seen from as far as China to Russia, from Germany to the UAE. It is working everywhere except from the traditional main markets today facing economic woes, and here we are refocusing our attention, and soon we shall be launching a new drive with the help of all our partner airlines,” the Seychelles Minister said.

“Seychelles is safe. Seychelles is a pretty destination with year-round summer climate. We are but 4 hours from Dubai, and we have no visa requirements. Our white sandy beaches and our warn turquoise blue seas are clean, which is why we are often referred to as the last paradise on Earth,” the Minister said.