Louis D’Offay, the respected and successful Seychelles Praslin, Seychelles hotelier addressed Tourism Industry yesterday and voiced his appreciation and that of the Tourism Trade in general for the hard work and devotion of former Seychelles Minister Alain St.Ange
Louis D’Offay, the successful and very respected hotelier of Praslin Island addressed the tourism trade of the island recently and used the opportunity to voice words of appreciation for the former Tourism Minister St.Ange. Louis D’Offay is a former Chairperson of the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association (SHTA).
In his address, Louis D’Offay says:
“Mrs Lafortune, Guests, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a pleasure for me to have been given the opportunity to say a few words tonight.
Mrs Lafortune I have taken note of the contents of your speech and can safely say that the industry will, as in the past worked in close collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism.
There have been numerous occasions when we, as the private sector have collaborated with your Ministry and the Government on various events and strategies which have been in our mutual interests.
One in particular that comes to mind is the AFFORDABLE SEYCHELLES CAMPAIGN.
The man behind that campaign was no other than the previous Minister of Tourism, Mr. St.Ange.
I take this occasion to voice my appreciation and that of the Tourism Trade in general for the hard work and devotion of former Minister Alain St.Ange.
He is not with us tonight as he is in Madrid aiming for his next challenge.
Let us give him a big round of applause and wish him all the success in his endeavors.
We are here tonight to celebrate our achievements of 2016 and optimism for 2017. But more than that, we are celebrating half a century of Tourism.
The vision and determination of our predecessors, some who are in this room tonight, and our own determination and love for our industry and country have led the Industry to where it is today.
We are recording record levels of tourist arrivals but unfortunately, yields are not at the level they should be.
It was encouraging to hear the new Minister of Tourism Mr. Lousteau-Lalanne, say that he will do his utmost to rectify the situation.
There is unfortunately a certain number of people, especially those outside the Trade who believe that Hoteliers are not declaring their real income. We in the Industry know that this is not the case.
Yes, we all want to see the day when yield will increase in relation to our occupancy levels.
I take this occasion to reassure the Ministry of Tourism represented tonight by Mrs. Lafortune that we share common goals and are willing to cooperate with her to achieve our common objectives.
I thank you for listening to me and wish you an enjoyable evening.
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