Seychelles Vice President Vincent Meriton chaired a meeting with various tourism business owners on Praslin last Friday. This meeting was a follow-up to the first multi-sectoral meeting held on Mahe where business owners were given the opportunity to address issues affecting the tourism industry.
Present for the meeting were the Principal Secretaries for Tourism, Anne Lafortune, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Garry Albert, and from the Vice President’s Office, Alain Volcere, as well as representatives from the FairTrading Commission.
The Praslin business association was represented by owners of boat charters, artists, taxis, tour guides, police, ferry, and the seafarers’ association.
Among the main topics discussed were incidents involving visitors where it was stated that despite the decrease in the number of crimes recorded in 2016, a sudden surge in the month of January 2017 has been reported to which offenders are becoming more sophisticated and aggressive in the manner that they are committing these crimes. The ministry also expressed concerns regarding the operation of illegal boat charters, tour guides, and excursions to which the Vice President stated that in order to put a stop to all illegal practices, both the public and private sectors should work together to find an appropriate solution to tackle the issue. It was hence agreed to relook and amend relevant policies and reinforce monitoring strategies.
Other issues highlighted were the need for installation of public toilets on beaches, demarcation of trails to better assist tourists who go on these paths, as well as the situation where hotels are unwilling to work with small businesses.
“This meeting is important; the discussion made showed where we can improve our industry and then agreed on what should be done,” said Vice President Meriton.
It was decided that the group will meet again in one month. After the meeting, the Vice President, accompanied by Minister Loustau-Lalanne, and the principal secretaries, visited the wife of Norbert Franz Fleischmann, the 58-year-old German national who went missing since Saturday.
Vice President Meriton conveyed his sincere support and that of the President of the Republic of Seychelles, Danny Faure, in their moment of worry.
Minister Loustau-Lalanne extended the full support and assistance of the ministry in any way possible to the Fleischmann’s family.
