Strong Seychellois Delegation Showcases Tourism Assets

Sylvestre Radegonde, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, led a Seychellois delegation at the 25th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly, hosted in the historic city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The delegation, featuring Sherin Francis, Principal Secretary for Tourism; Chris Matombe, Director of Strategic Planning; and Danio Vidot, Protocol Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, actively participated in the opening day activities. Currently holding the vice-president position, Seychelles engaged in the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Statistics Committee meeting.

In his address to the Committee, Minister Radegonde underscored Seychelles’ accomplishments in developing a Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) with UNWTO support, positioning the country as one of the first in the region to achieve this feat. The Minister acknowledged the challenges in project implementation.

Minister Radegonde also emphasized Seychelles’ commitment to sustainable development, exemplified by managing tourist beds through a moratorium on large hotel projects. The tourism strategy focuses on promoting higher value, lower impact tourism by offering higher quality and diversified products, attracting tourists willing to invest more in visiting the destination.

The 25th General Assembly session convened representatives from over 117 countries and more than 70 ministerial representatives. The four-day event, including two days dedicated to the General Assembly agenda, featured vital highlights such as the presentation of the Secretary-General’s report on current trends in international tourism. Discussions also centered on implementing the general work program points for 2022-2023 and the draft work program for 2024-2025.