Seychelles hosts first ever IORA tourism ministerial meeting |22 November 2014

Ministers, policymakers and partners of the tourism industry met at the Savoy Resort & Spa conference room at Beau Vallon for the first ever Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) tourism ministerial meeting.

The idea of the meeting was to generate ideas on the possibilities of strengthening and expanding the region’s tourism industry.

The Vice-President of the Republic of Seychelles, Danny Faure, was the guest of honour. Also present were the director of IORA, H. Graham Anderson;

ministers; members of the diplomatic corps and other dignitaries from countries like Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Sultanate of Oman, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Seychelles.

In his keynote address for the occasion, the Seychellois Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean-Paul Adam, on behalf of President James Michel and the people and government of Seychelles expressed his appreciation to all present for the first IORA ministerial meeting.

He commended their engagement in what makes each of our individual countries and region special and to share ideas on how each can translate his into regional policies – policies that can further accelerate wealth creation within our ocean.

Highlighting governments’ recognition that tourism is one of the major drivers of global growth around the world and that tourism has more than ever a wider bearing on macro-economic benefits, the minister said the right tourism strategy can translate into exponential growth that overflows into many other sectors.

“In a small island developing state such as Seychelles, the link between tourism and our macro-economic stability could not be more visible. In Seychelles every fisherman, every taxi driver, every student in our schools know that tourism is our bread and butter. And we know how fragile it can be,” said Minister Adam.

Recognising that tourism also depends on partnerships and making connections as there is no such thing as successful tourism industry being built in isolation, Minister Adam said in our Indian Ocean region, and through our only pan Indian Ocean organisation, IORA, we have a unique opportunity to build on our respective strengths and create synergies that can improve our resilience while also creating new and innovative products and experiences.

“So we are meeting in Seychelles because we believe that with the right strategy, tourism can bring so much to our region. Bring so much more to our respective countries. That it can add even more to our way of life,” said the minister.

Noting that the Indian Ocean region is exciting both in terms of the strong emergence of our tourism markets and tourism travellers, Minister Adam said that member countries can use this opportunity to better connect their industries and markets.

Elaborating on the array of untapped and unique eco-tourism experiences within the region, the minister said member countries have the opportunity to build on that and anchor their tourism efforts within sustainable practices throughout the region and enhance the experience of tourism both for the traveller and the host country.

“Let us build on existing partnerships in our region. The islands of the south west Indian Ocean have sought to enhance what we can offer together through the ‘Vanilla Islands’ concept for example. And our wider grouping of states that share the Indian Ocean can further tap into numerous opportunities,” said Minister Adam.

But he stressed on the need of being able to enhance the region’s air and sea connectivity to be able to build on these durable partnerships.
As for the Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St Ange, he said if there is one thing that can rally all the economies of the various states of the IORA and make it more  consolidated, it is tourism.

“We are today united as the Indian Ocean Rim countries . But what unites us as this group of countries far and wide which starts off from Australia all the way down to the Middle East? What is it that keeps us together? What is that catalyst that brings us together? If there is one thing that we all have, it is the sea. It is the sea and the ocean that engulfs all of us,” said Minister St Ange while reminding all that when we think of the sea we must think of the blue economy.

“This sea gives us fishing, gives us sailing, gives us diving. It is a source of food market where we get our fresh fish for the day. This sea we must all cherish, we must all defend and we must stand together as the Indian Ocean Rim to say we have a part to play in ensuring that it is preserved for the long haul,” said Minister St Ange.

He added that IORA remains unique as a tourism region and that all member states promote the Indian Ocean Rim as a region of tourism. He mentioned the diversity that they have which includes their respective culture, something that each and every one of them can sell.

But Minister St Ange said what really makes tourism and in order to have it, aviation and air travel need to take place, adding that tourism and aviation are linked.

“Otherwise tourism will die a natural death without air access and without the possibility of travel,” the minister said, adding that air access comes with bilateral agreements.

“It is one of the things that the region needs to do to make tourism work,” he said.
He therefore urged each country to think about it, reflect on it and see how we the region can help grow the tourism industry of our respective countries through landing rights.

Minister St Ange expressed the wish for the IORA agenda to remain alive. To this effect he informed all on the existence of a committee within the IORA itself which deals with this issue and the creation of a tourism desk in the African Union for the same purpose.

Mr Anderson announced that since Thursday the IORA experts have been deliberating on ways to promote profitable yet sustainable tourism in the Indian Ocean Rim region and that various strategies have come up like ways to reclaim the geographic distance among member states.

They also expressed the need to increase the competitiveness of their tourism industries through marketing and networking strategies to capture the emerging markets from a range of back packers, business travellers and luxury seekers.

He highlighted the importance of private sectors in the implementation of these strategies which he said showed the key interest they have in assisting the tourism sectors to further the tourism objectives.

He also said that the sustainability of the tourism industry is directly linked to the safeguarding of the environment and the Indian Ocean Rim Association region has injected this concern in its future planning programmes.

He mentioned the establishment in the secretariat of a system where the outcomes of the meeting will be followed up which was the wish expressed by Minister St Ange earlier.

Regarding the blue economy, Mr Anderson said during the 14th  IORA council of ministers meeting in Perth in October this year,  it was decided that for the years to come the Indian Ocean Rim will work towards materialising the Indian Ocean Blue Economy concept.  The momentum has already been launched.  Mauritius will be hosting the first IORA blue economy conference in September in 2015. It is to be noted that tourism forms a major part of the blue economy.