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Seychelles Minister to seek support of SADC and RETOSA for Routes Africa 2012

Seychelles Minister to seek support of SADC and RETOSA for Routes Africa 2012

The Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St.Ange, has arrived in Mauritius to attend the 48th RETOSA board meeting of the Tourism Ministers and the SADC meeting.

Minister St.Ange said that the Seychellois delegation “would use the RETOSA meeting as a platform to sensitize member countries of Routes Africa 2012.”

Seychelles will be hosting the 7th edition of Routes Africa 2012, which would be held between July 8-10.

The Chief Executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Elsia Grandcourt, said that the “forum would be beneficial for civil aviation authorities, airlines, and tourism bodies of the African region and also to members of the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands within the Indian Ocean: Seychelles, Reunion island, Mauritius, Comoros, Madagascar, and Mayotte.”

The Executive Vice President of UBM Aviation Routes, David Stroud, had the following message for RETOSA members: “We would be delighted to welcome the members of SADC and RETOSA to Routes Africa 2012 in the Seychelles to meet directly with decision makers within the air service development arena. Tourism boards are taking an increasingly targeted and strategic role in the aviation arena, using partnership with both airlines, local and international, and airports to help build demand and grow competitive aviation capacity within their regions. We look forward to welcoming them to the event.”

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Seychelles’ re-engagement in RETOSA follows the country’s re-admission in SADC in August 2008.

The vulnerability of the island states and the dynamism of the Southern African region make it imperative for the Seychelles tourism representatives to use the SADC tourism meeting as an opportune forum to align its strategies with those of the region.